The Little Things Give You Away
by AishiExcel
Summary: Rich teen star Light Yagami has it all- fame, fortune, and a beautiful model girlfriend. But his fame and praise grows shallow and Light finds himself bored… Then one day he meets a mysterious stranger at a benefit ball and everything turns upside down
1. Chapter 1

* * *

-The Little Things Give You Away-

By AishiExcel

Rich teen star Light Yagami has it all… fame, fortune, and a beautiful superstar girlfriend. But his fame and praise grows shallow and Light finds himself bored… Then one day he meets a mysterious stranger at a benefit ball and everything is turned upside down…(AU Light/L, eventual Mello/Matt)

DISCLAIMER TIME! 1.) I don't own Death note. L, Light… all their wonderfulness belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.

2.) I'd like to give a shout out to my sis Nikkiacat, author of the wonderful fics Body Swap and L's Day Out (plug plug). She helped me birth this plot-baby AND proofread the entire thing and as such earns half the credit for this fic. Go Nikkiacat!!

Okay, enough talking. On to the fic.

* * *

_There are few who deny, _

_At what I do I am the best_

_For my talents are renowned far and wide…_

_Kira held his sword out with a few drops of blood still glistening on the blade. His black wings were already folded and hidden from mortal's eyes, but he looked as angelic without them as with._

His prey cowered in the shadows- where monsters like him belonged- and repeatedly whispered a prayer. As Kira advanced on him his voice grew frantic. "PLEASE GOD, PROTECT ME!" he screams.

_Kira does not speak. God has abandoned this man already; he has been alone since he raped and killed two thirteen-year-old girls. Kira is simply sending him on to his Father for judgment._

_Kira never wastes his words on the condemned. He simply passes judgment._

_The man's prayers abruptly stop. His life is ended. Kira moves on into the silent night, ready to find the next sinner and send him on his way._

"CUT!" the director screamed. "That was perfect! Great shoot as always, Yagami!"

Light Yagami sat down the prop sword he was holding and helped his "victim" to his feet. "I guess so," he called out to the director, "but can we do something about this fake blood? It's everywhere."

The man Light had helped to his feet smiled. "Great take, Yagami! I was really feeling that one. For a minute there I was scared of you."

Light flashed his charming smile. "Thanks. I'm glad to know I'm good at my job."

There wasn't a teenage girl in the country that didn't know the name Light Yagami. The 18-year old celebrity had begun his career as a small-time theater actor, but a talent scout had discovered him and the rest of his story sounded like a Hollywood dream. Light had played a few minor parts in some major movies until he had been asked to star in the hit drama Heaven Sent. Light's starring role as Kira, the fallen angel who killed criminals, had sent him straight to the top. His name had been on many magazines' lists of Names to Look Out for and Rising Stars. Heaven Sent was one of the highest rate shows on television. And Light was every teen girl's dream guy.

It wasn't just his looks that distinguished him, though those definitely had a hand in it. He had perfectly straight dark auburn hair, mahogany eyes that were deep and soulful, and a slender yet toned body that had appeared in many a fantasy. And Light could AC T. It came almost effortlessly to him to slip into a second skin, an alternate personality, a new Self. The director had explained that Light had been chosen because nobody else had so easily BECOME Kira. All the others had ACTED like the part; Light WAS the part.

But what really set him above everybody else was the CONFIDENCE Light carried with him. Light truly did seem to be angelic; he floated above mere mortals on a cloud of confidence and grace. Yeah, he was that good.

And yet Light was… bored. There was no thrill for him in acting. It was too easy; too simple. Light spent most of his time pondering the hollowness inside of his chest where he imagined most people kept their troubles and pride. He had nothing but an empty cavity filled with spider webs and dust. He didn't know how to fill it; he just knew that he needed SOMETHING.

_Oh somewhere deep, inside of these bones,_

_An emptiness began to grow_

_There's something out there, far from my home_

_A longing that I've never known_

Light was lost in his usual train of thought when his manager Matsuda came running up, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Light! Brilliant as always!"

Something about Matsuda always reminded Light of a puppy. He would have looked right at home scampering around the park catching Frisbees in his mouth, or rolling at Light's feet wagging some invisible tail. His goofy smile was plastered all over his face.

"I swear, Light, you get better and better with each shoot!" the puppy-like man declared. "Now, you have a benefit ball tonight, don't forget! That hospital you made a donation to is opening a new wing and I hear a few photographers from People will be there!"

Light sighed. "Alright. It's black tie, right?"

Matsuda nodded far too enthusiastically. "Yeah! I'll be there too… I gotta get my tux dry-cleaned…"

Light rolled his eyes. Of course Matsuda would be the type who would only have one formal outfit that he'd gotten stained at his last event.

"Misa isn't coming, is she?"

Misa Amane… Light's self-proclaimed girlfriend… was also a star of Heaven Sent. She had come in last season as Aya, the doomed mortal girl that Kira had fallen in love with. Their chemistry on-screen was fantastic. After a while, fans had begun to notice, and a rumor had started about an offstage relationship between the two. Light had sensed good publicity, and Misa was all for it, so the two had agreed to a semi-relationship. Light took her to events and out on dates sometimes. It benefited both of them, since Light liked being in one of Hollywood's most envied couples, and Misa liked Light. A lot.

Before Matsuda could answer, Misa came running as if on cue. She was short, five foot four at the tallest, and pretty. If every teenage girl knew Light's name, then every man with a Lolita complex knew Misa's. The actor and model was the combination of 'cute' and 'sexy' that drove men crazy. She had fine, straight blonde hair and large brown eyes with long lashes. Her pouty, red-lipsticked lips and voluptuous curves were womanly, but her pigtails and Goth-Lolita costumes were childish.

Not to mention the fact that she had the temperament of an eight-year old with separation anxiety.

"OHHHH LIGHT! MISA-MISA HAS MISSED YOU!! WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY SCENES TOGETHER LATELY AND MISA HAS BEEN SOOOO LOOOONELY!!"

Light tried to pry the hyper bundle of Goth-Lolita off of him. "I know, Misa… um, you're choking me. And I've got fake blood all over me."

Misa loosened her grip. "Oh! Sorry my Light!" She buried her face in his chest. "I just wish I could see you more."

Light rolled his eyes. "Yeah. So do I." He could have easily hidden the fact that he was lying. But he didn't. As a result, it ended up sounding like he read the lines off of a cue card. "I just want you around. All the time." _NOT!_

Misa hugged Light even tighter. If she hadn't had tiny frail arms, a few ribs probably would have splintered. "Don't worry my Light. Love conquers all!"

Light boredly sat a hand atop Misa's head. "Yeah. Hey, are you coming to that hospital ball tonight?"

Misa sniffled. "No. Misa has a photo shoot tonight. She's modeling for that lipstick line."

Light sighed. He actually was disappointed she wouldn't be there. When he went to events like this alone he usually picked up a tail of giggling girls, some his own age and some old enough to be his mother. Misa was like a force field o drive admirers away. He may not have liked her, but she had her uses.

Misa snuggled her face even more against his chest. She was getting fake blood all mixed in with her carefully applied makeup. "So how has my Lighty been?"

"Please don't call me Lighty. I've been fine."

Misa giggled. "Why not Lighty?"

"Please don't Misa."

Misa pouted. It made her look even MORE childish. "Okay. Well, Misa has been fine. I had a photo shoot for that perfume company the other day and tonight I have that lipstick… Oh! And I got a new dress!" She stepped back and twirled around to show it off."

"You'd better get it washed then… You just got fake blood all over it."

Misa gasped. "Oh, NO! You're RIGHT! " She quickly kissed him on the cheek and dashed off. "I'll see you later my Lighty!!" she called out over her shoulder.

Light rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

* * *

When Light got home that evening he didn't change immediately into his tux and call his limo driver to pick him up. He sat on his bed for a moment and looked around.

He was better off than a lot of adults in the world, let alone others his age. He had his own condo in a prosperous part of town, two cars, a driver, a maid, and he could hire anybody else he wanted to take care of stuff for him. He wasn't a billionaire, but he was definitely better off than your average working class man. He had a beautiful girlfriend. He was just famous enough to warrant interviews with magazines and media, but not enough to be hounded every step. As far as celebrities went he had it great.

So why was he depressed?

Everyone told him it was unjustified. People with good lives had no right to bitch and moan. He should be thankful for what he had.

But there was… nothing. Long periods of nothing where he simply felt empty. All his success and fame… it didn't do a damn bit of good. Light was just…

Empty. He was hollow.

Sighing, Light flipped open his phone and called his driver. He had an event to attend.

_Oh there's an empty place in these bones_

_That calls out for something unknown_

_The fame and praise come year after year_

_Does nothing for these empty tears…

* * *

___

So! There it was, the first chapter of Little Things! What does everyone think? I want to hear your thoughts! L will be showing up next chapter, so keep reading. I actually have quite a lot of Little Things already written and I'm just hoping this will be the story I actually finish. I'm depending on your reviews to keep it going!

There are a few things I forgot to mention at the beginning of the chapter. Firstly, the title comes from a Linkin Park song and does not belong to me. I apologize if anyone else has already used this title!! My humblest apologies!! Also, I'll give a special shout-out to anyone who can recognize the song lyrics I used this chapter. I'm going to be doing this every chap and making a kind of contest out of it… The one who gets the most right gets a special prize!! Review, review review! Love and kisses!

-AishiExcel


	2. Chapter 2

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Disclaimer: Don't own Deathnote. Half credit goes to Nikkiacat.

Those who guessed last chap's song as Jack's Lament from Nightmare Before Christmas were wonderfully right! As a prize… they get virtual hugs from me. At the moment, that list is: FrayedSoul, rain angst, whitelilly, RavenSohma and Sarahfreak. Sorry if I didn't include your name!

Try to guess at this chapter's song, even though it's a bit more obscure… It more refers to Light than L, but I think it fits well.

* * *

When Light stepped out of his limo, he didn't wince at the camera flashes. He was used to that by now.

Upon stepping inside he saw Matsuda, fidgeting with his suit, and Misa's manager Mogi (thankfully without Misa.) He made a beeline for them, turning the heads of all of the women and many of the men along the way. Matsuda bounced up and down as Light approached, looking more like a puppy than ever.

"Light! Hey! How are you? Mogi's here!"

"I noticed, " Light drawled, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the quiet man. Mogi nodded at Light and resumed… being quiet.

"Oh! And Light! I told you there was a musical guest tonight, didn't I?"

Light shook his head, and acted interested. He didn't really give a crap.

"Ah! Well… there is. The group… I think they're called Wammy Kids, or something like that. The producers really like them. They might be featured on an episode!"

Now Light was interested. The show was popular because of HIM. Some bottom-feeding musician wanted to exploit his success for fifteen minutes of fame? Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen. He was going to tell this musician how it was. Light was KING of his show.

"The lead singer's name is Mello," Matsuda continued to ramble, "and I think the keyboardist is named Matt."

Light nodded absently. As Matsuda continued to rattle of stats, album sales and hum the tunes to their songs, Light began to drift off and stare at the crowd.

That's when he first noticed him.

_I met him in a crowded room  
where people go to drink away their gloom  
He sat me down and so began  
the story of a charmless man  
_

He was hunched up on a chair near the bar, even though he wasn't drinking. His darkly shadowed eyes were locked straight onto Light. They made eye contact for a second, and then the stranger looked away.

_Strange_, Light mused, but he ignored it for a while.

He wandered off to toy with a few B-list starlets, but he could feel the strange man's gaze burning into his back. It was beginning to annoy him. Who was this guy? A stalker? A fan? (Both were essentially the same thing.) A director? Directors often looked weird…. Just look at Peter Jackson…

Light couldn't ignore it. Finally he put on his best business smile and made his way towards the bizarre, unfamiliar person.

The man (boy? Young man? He looked like he was Light's age, or maybe slightly older. But in show business it was hard to tell) had horrible posture. He was squatted on the seat with his feet drawn up into his chair and his hands on his knees. His eyes were deep brown, maybe even black, and darkly shadowed as if with insomnia. His hair… Light wasn't even going to START. It needed to be brushed, washed, conditioned and gelled or chopped off completely.

He didn't let his distaste show on his face. He was perfectly composed, of course.

"Hi," he murmured. "I'm Light Yagami."

_He thinks his educated airs those family shares  
Will protect him, that you will respect him  
He moves in circles of friends who just pretend that they like him  
He does the same to them and when you put it all together  
There's the model of a charmless man  
_

The stranger's eyes shot fully open for just a second before he composed himself. "I know," he muttered.

Light raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I know you're Light Yagami."

Light mentally twitched, but kept his cool. "Oh. Well then… Hello! I don't think we've met before."

The stranger tilted his head. "Ah."

"Pardon?"

"I said 'ah'. It is a monosyllable that means you have come to a realization-"

"I meant, why the Ah?"

This guy was inept at small talk. Light persevered on, though, determined to learn the identity of his … watcher.

"It's unimportant," muttered the stranger. "Light Yagami…"

"That would be me. I didn't catch your name… what was it again?"

The messy young man pondered for a second. "Ryuzaki."

"Ryuzaki?"

"Yes."

"No last name?"

Now the weirdo turned his face to look up at Light. Black eyes met mahogany ones.

"If I told you my last name, would you use it?"

Something entirely unexpected happened. Light actually laughed.

He quickly suppressed the outburst. "No. No, I probably wouldn't."

"Then there is no need to tell it to you," the oddball confirmed, nodding assuredly.

Light held back the grin trying to sneak onto his face. "Um. Right. Well… haha. Do you come to benefits often, Ryuzaki?"

Light mentally assessed the man. He could have been a comedian. Some comedians had that deadpan sense of humor… Perhaps he was something unimportant, like a costume designer or a makeup artist. They could be weird. But this Ryuzaki hadn't called him "honey" or acted effeminate yet… so maybe he wasn't. That ruled out hairstylist, too. Was he a musician? A writer?

"Not really," Ryuzaki muttered. "This would be my first. Wearing suits is rather inconvenient."

His suit WAS rather rumpled… and it smelled of frosting… a caterer?

"What do you do for a living?" Light pressed onwards.

Ryuzaki's eyes met Light's for a long moment. Finally, some semblance of a smile crept onto his formerly expressionless face.

"I'm a doctor."

_He talks at speed he gets nose bleeds  
He doesn't see his days are tumbling down upon him  
Yet he tries so hard to please he's just so keen for you to listen  
But no-one is listening and when you put it all together  
There's the model of a charmless man_

* * *

Sorry, short chap! When I originally wrote this, I didn't divide it into chapters at all, so deciding where to end each chap is a big pain for me… I hope my characterization was good this go-around. What'd everyone think? Oh, and I have a few responses to some reviews… to LK: TT I didn't pay very much attention to the number stats. Sorry about the mistake. We'll just say the 4 inches came from some 4-inch high-heeled boots XD

And to desdemona: I hate to disappoint you, but it is Ryuzaki... It does get kind of flat only calling him by one name, but it's the most commonly used alias... So sorry! Please keep reading despite that!

Well, review review review folks! Mwah!

-AishiExcel


	3. Chapter 3

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Don't own anything. Half credit goes to Nikkiacat.

Sorry about how long it took to update folks! I've had a superbly busy week/weekend/etc. I had to go to the orientation for the art school I'm attending next year, AND I had to go to my boyfriend's prom… on the same day. And the next day, at 7 am, I had to crawl to a meeting at work… So I've been exhausted. But never fear! I am going to keep Little Things going.

Anyways, those who guessed the song as Charmless Man by Blur were absolutely right. Those who didn't… It is a great song, so look it up.

I wasn't sure about this chap's song so tell me if you don't think it fits. Anyways, that's enough rambling. Here's Little Things!

* * *

"Doctor? Seriously?" Light couldn't suppress his laughter this time. That was just TOO DAMN FUNNY.

"Why is Light laughing? I'm entirely serious."

Light eyed the stranger. He couldn't have been older than 21. He was ungainly; his hands were too big and his fingers were too long.

"Do you mean an intern?"

"No. I mean a doctor."

"Do you mean a nurse?"

"Doctor and nurse are not synonyms, Light Yagami. I do not see how I could say one and mean the other."

Light smiled. Oh. He got it. This guy WAS a comedian. Best to just agree to avoid being the butt of a joke.

"Okay, okay. You're a doctor. I get it." Light rolled his eyes. _And I'm the freaking Pope_, he mentally added.

Ryuzaki seemed to realize Light wasn't entirely convinced, but he let it slide. "Anyhow," he murmured, "Light got to ask me a question, and so may I ask him one in return? It's only good manners."

How did this guy know ANYTHING about good manners? Nevertheless, the teen star consented.

"Sure. Ask away."

He didn't know exactly what it would be, but he had a pretty good idea. Questions always fell into two categories- gossip, or fan trivia. The former was usually something like, "Is it true you posed for naked pictures on the internet?" while the latter was something like, "In episode 24 you were clearly seen to be holding a scythe, but in episode 25 it became a sword. How did that happen?" Looking at this guy, it could have been either one. But he didn't expect the question that followed.

"Light said once in a magazine interview that his I.Q. was somewhere around 112 or 113, correct?"

Light raised his eyebrows. He barely even remembered that obscure interview. It had to be at least 2 years old.

"Yeah, I did…. But that was a while ago-"

"It's much higher, isn't it?" Ryuzaki interjected, cutting the celebrity off. "I would warrant a guess that Light Yagami's I.Q. was at least over 150, possibly even over 180."

What. The. Hell.

Light didn't even know what to say for a minute. This… this GUY… he was….

Absolutely right.

_Will you look them in the face?  
Could you look me in the face?  
Three cheers you fooled them all  
Come on, hip hip hooray  
Three cheers you fooled them all  
Come on, hip hip hooray  
Hip hip hooray_

"I… what?"

He realized what unnerved him so much about Ryuzaki. It was his gaze. He had a horribly piercing gaze, like he could see through Light's soul. Or maybe just his clothes. Either way, it was unsettling.

"An I.Q. of 112 or 113 is only slightly above average, and Light seems to me to be rather beyond that. I would be seventy-five percent sure that he's a genius in intellect as well as acting ability."

How did he know? How did he know? How the hell did this guy know that? Light was an excellent actor. He knew just how to pretend to be at the same level as everyone else. He had built his façade so carefully that sometimes his own act fooled him and he forgot how damn smart he was.

'How did you… I mean," God! He was stammering like an idiot. Light Yagami did NOT lose his composure. He took a deep breath and smiled. His mask clicked back into place.

"You're absolutely right! It's pretty interesting how you picked that up. How did you manage that?"

Ryuzaki's gaze wasn't going to unnerve him this time. No, sir.

"I fancy myself something of a… mental diagnostician as well as medical doctor. I think I can understand Light's motivation, too."

"You do?" _Well you think you know it all you little weirdo, don't you? _Light smiled even harder.

"Light is, on all accounts, superior to the people around him. He is more gifted; richer and most definitely more attractive than any other 18 year old save for a few movie stars, and personally I believe that the only thing they have over him is wealth. One more thing to separate them would just make it harder to connect to people. When you're the best, it's lonely. You can't hide your success or looks, so the only thing you can downplay is your intelligence. When you're already up on a pedestal, one more thing to be revered for is just an annoyance."

"…"

Ryuzaki was unusually close. His breath smelled like frosting and coffee. Light backed up and pushed an auburn lock of hair off of his face.

"I… I guess you're…. Right…"

Ryuzaki seemed oddly satisfied with this. His unusual smile contorted those pale lips upwards.

At that moment an older gentleman, in every sense of the word, approached. He resembled noting more than a butler or an English chap with his neat gray moustache and laugh-lined eyes.

"Ah! Ryuzaki. There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Now that I have met Light Yagami I am."

"Ah! Pardon me!" The gentleman turned to Light and held out his hand. "I'm Watari, the hospital director! So pleased to meet you. If not for your donation, we would never have been able to build the new children's wing. Surely you'll allow us to thank you somehow. A plaque perhaps?  
"Oh, no, no, I could never allow that." Light's charming face was slightly rattled, but he managed all the niceties and the humble smile. "I could do more, really. My sister stayed there when she got sick a while ago. It's a really nice hospital."

Watari smiled even wider. Judging from those crinkles around his eyes, he smiled a lot. "Well, thank you. It will be even nicer now." He turned to Ryuzaki. "Ryuzaki, were you aware that the band will be playing soon? I thought you might be interested in hearing them."

"Ah. Yes." He glanced over at Light. "I would like that very much. I suppose I will talk with you…. Another time… Light Yagami…" There was a strange note in that monotonous voice. "Goodbye."

Watari looked curiously at Ryuzaki but held out his hand to help him out. "Well. Perhaps we can grab a drink of punch before the band begins. The caterers are excellent." He led Ryuzaki off talking to him under his breath.

Light was breathless. Just like that, away walked an enigma and a mystery and possibly the strangest person he had ever met. No… he wasn't going to let all the questions in his mind go unanswered… and there were so many of them! How was Ryuzaki connected to the hospital director? Could it possibly be true that he was a doctor? Or was he just a liar? How did he know about Light's I.Q.? Who the hell WAS he?

He tailed close behind them, slipping into crowds and circles of people to avoid being seen. He listened to the hushed conversation between the old man and the young man in snippets.

"…didn't plan for….. something must be done…."

"….could be dangerous…….not the wisest course of action…."

"……….administer 20 milligrams of……. He will begin to…….."

"….. then what do you plan?"

"……….give him the dosage. He will not seriously be affected. I will handle the rest."

That last statement was definitely Ryuzaki's voice. So he was discussing medicine with Watari? But… that could only mean….

Had he been telling the truth?

"Oh look. I spy Light again." Ryuzaki waved. Shit! He'd been spotted. "Do you want to watch the band with us, Light?"

Light smiled. "Sure. Why not."

"You're kind Light. Allowing a complete stranger such as myself to impose myself on you. I should grant you some kind of favor. How about a glass of punch?"

Light shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat."

"Watari, fetch punch for Light."

Wow. He was bossing the hospital director around like a common butler. He HAD to be a doctor, or arrogant. Either way, Watari complied.

They found their seats and the darkened stage lit up. Two figures could be seen- one, slender and blonde, clad in leather, and the other a bespectacled redhead in a striped shirt. The music began with a thumping pulse and the singer's voice floated over, strong and commanding.

_This feeling never leaves you alone  
You pull the trigger on your own  
You're hiding in your safe place  
Hiding with your eyes shut tightly  
all the way to the hospital_

The loud music and flashing lights made Light's head hurt. He squinted and looked at Ryuzaki. The weird man seemed to be paying no attention to the show and staring openly at the teen star.

"Ryuzaki," he asked, his voice drowned in the music, "who are you?"

"What?"

" I said… Never mind, here comes Watari."

Watari handed Light a small cup of reddish punch and smiled again. "Here you go Light. The band is good, are they not?"

To be honest they were giving Light a headache. He sipped at the punch to try and cool his head but it wasn't helping. In a frustrated gesture he downed the whole cup.

_Now will you ever rest your head?  
You end up feeling mostly dead  
Pretending you're the last one  
Hiding with your eyes shut tightly  
all the way to the hospital_

The singer's voice was getting even louder now. Light squinted his eyes and growled. Shit… he was NOT feeling well… his head was hurting badly now, and the room was spinning…

Ryuzaki stood up. "Light? Are you feeling quite well?"

He tried to speak but instead his knees buckled. Holy crap. Was he going to black out?

Ryuzaki caught him before he hit the ground. "Watari. Get the car."

Light tried to protest but he couldn't. Dammmmmn, he felt like he was dying…

"I'm a doctor. Don't worry. You're going to be fine." That fuzzy-head's monotone was hardly reassuring.

"P-promise…" he managed to stammer.

"Promise?"

_Before I cross my heart and hope to die at all  
Take off my mask and leave the lies to the liars_

"That you aren't lying," Light murmured, and then the music and the lights stopped. Everything fell into blissful, serene nothing.

* * *

Yaaaaay! This chapter was much longer than the last one… I think….. I hope you enjoyed! A cliffhanger, w00t!! The next update should be relatively quick but I'm not sure. I have final exams coming up soon and I always have tons of homework for Creative writing…. But soon enough school will be out, w00000000!! Then I should be able to update regularly. I hope everything was good this chap! Review, review, review!! Love you all!!


	4. Chapter 4

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Don't own anything. Half credit goes to Nikkiacat.

It's been another long update. I guess this one is just due to laziness… But I have been busy… Oh!! My sister and I cosplayed Mello and Near today. Anyone who's interested can look on my profile… I should be posting a link in a few days. Ha ha.

Anyways. Last time the song was Hospital by The Used. This time I'm too lazy to bother. Read on, brave soul!

* * *

Darkness.

At first, there was utter darkness, and the Light could hear faraway voices.

He struggled to piece together a thought. _Where am I? What's going on? Why…._

He couldn't finish any of the thoughts, though, and so he drifted into silence and let the voices slip in and out of focus.

"He overheated," said one. It was soft… monotonous. Memories buzzed around the edges of Light's eyes but he couldn't place it. "He will be fine, I assure you Matsuda-san. He simply needs to rest. I'll have Watari transport him to the hospital."  
"B-bu- Ishhou- takeim- ome…" Slurred a voice. Light recognized it, too…

"You've been drinking, Matsuda-san. You should call a cab for yourself. It will be better if Watari and I take him to the hospital so we can keep him under surveillance and make sure he recuperates fully. He may need to take tomorrow off of whatever work he may be engaged in."

"R-righ… But how'd this 'appen?"

"All I can say is that it is rather warm in here and Light was wearing a black suit. Perhaps he simply has no tolerance for the heat. He should be more careful in the future."

"Right," slurred the second voice again. "Well… I'llcome vissi' him in the morning… just take care of 'im, okay?"

"I will. I promise," the first voice droned. "Do not worry."

After that Light lapsed into unconsciousness again. He remembered snatches of thins… cool water on his lips, his shirt being unbuttoned, a delightfully cool bed… And there was that flat voice again. It was murmuring something….

"I know it's foolish," the voice mumbled, "that I take such extreme measures. But I had to have a few more hours with you… just a few more… I wish I weren't such a bad person. Yagami-kun."

After that it was just blissful deep sleep.

* * *

In the morning Light bolted up, gasping, half-expecting that he'd still be on the floor in the benefit ball in front of the stage. But he was in a hospital bed, in a cool and refreshing room, with his shirt unbuttoned, his jacket and tie missing and a bewildered expression on his face.

"What-who-" he started to shout, but a voice silenced him.

"Shhhh, Light, don't panic. You are currently in a hospital room recovering from mild heatstroke. Your cell phone is on the table next to you and your manager is in the hall. There is nothing to be afraid of."

It took a minute for Light to recognize that it was the strange panda-eyed man from last night, Ryuzaki, perched on the end of his bed. He was crouched with his knees to his chest as he had been last night and he still appeared completely rumpled and bizarre. Instead of his suit from the night before, he was in a simple white sweater and jeans. Odd clothing for a doctor. In fact, nothing about him even remotely suggested the word "doctor". "Hobo" maybe, but definitely not "doctor".

"What happened?" light finally asked, his voice shaky. This guy… he was totally unnerving. Light almost wanted to run screaming out of the room…

"You overheated last night. Luckily I was around and nursed you back to health myself." Was he trying to sound like some kind of hero? Because it wasn't working.

"Oh…" Light murmured. Passing out last night had been a terrifying experience. He couldn't remember much of the lead-up to it, just that he'd had a headache and been very hot. Mostly he was worried about how the press would react to it. He could already hear the rumors flying on the internet- everything from _"Light was on drugs and overdosed!"_ to _"Light's secretly got cancer!"_ It was going to be all over the tabloids, too. There had been enough photographers there to get 4 different shots of him falling from every possible angle. He just hoped he'd looked good while he was unconscious.

Ryuzaki stood up and tottered over to Light's bedside, fixing that creepy unblinking gaze on the teen star. "How are you feeling now? Are you still rather warm or okay? Perhaps you need some water?"

"Some water would be nice," he murmured, licking his chapped lips. "Thank you… Ryuzaki." Somehow, calling him 'Doctor' seemed unnatural. And Light didn't even know his last name.

The bizarre man pushed a button near Light's bed and an intercom came on. "Some water, please," he asked simply, and within a few minutes a nurse in pink scrubs came in with a bottle of water which she handed to Ryuzaki.

"Here you go, Ryuu," she beamed in a voice rather similar to Misa's in annoying cheerfulness. She skipped out of the room and on to some other sad soul.

Light took careful not of the fact that she didn't call Ryuzaki by any title or act like he was her superior. However, she had to know him, because she was familiar enough to call him a pet name… What did this mean? Light still wasn't sure what exactly the deal with this man was and he was too thirsty to worry about it. He gracefully took the bottle and downed half of it.

"I believe your manager would like to come in," Ryuzaki mumbled. "He has been worrying himself sick in the waiting room for over an hour."

"What time and day is it?" Light hurriedly asked.

"Ten fifteen and four seconds, January fourth, the morning after the ball," Ryuzaki answered without a moment's hesitation. "No need to panic."

Light sighed and waved one hand absentmindedly at the door. "Tell him to come in. I don't want him to have a coronary or anything."

Matsuda burst in like a frantic puppy whose master has been away from the house for too long. "Oh! God! Light! I was so worried! Everyone was freaking out last night, and some pretty wild rumors started, and I had to convince everyone that you weren't on ecstasy or something, and then I didn't know what was wrong with you and-"

"Calm down!" interrupted Light. "I guess I just overheated. It's happened before. What's going on? Did you quell the rumors?"

That was Light. He was always business first.

"Yeah, finally. I was really worried, Light. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Light mumbled. " I can probably make it to filming today…"

"Oh no! Don't worry about it!" Matsuda hurriedly interjected. "We're just shooting some of Misa's scenes and then there's something else going on. You don't need to show up. I promise." Matsuda grinned that goofy grin and Light swore his tail was wagging. "Just rest up."

"What was the other thing you're talking about?" Light pressed on. If he didn't keep Matsuda rambling, he'd be stuck in here with the creepy Ryuzaki, and he didn't want that to happen.

"Oh! I heard a rumor from one of the writers that Kira may be getting a rival- another dark angel! Isn't that cool?"

"Nnh." Light rolled his eyes. He didn't want a rival. He didn't need a rival. Kira was great as he was. But whatever. He could deal with that, he supposed, as long as it kept people watching him.

"Well, I really got to go," Matsuda announced, and it was only then that Light realized how hung-over the older man looked. He had probably drunk too much last night and then hardly slept. He must've been up all night fretting over Light and making phone calls.

Idiot.

Matsuda waved at Light and took off. Honestly, people like him were fools. He just let himself be bossed around by Light. It was almost pathetic.

Ryuzaki cleared his throat and Light nearly jumped out of his skin. "Oh! You're still there," he garbled nervously.

"Light-kun has officially been cleared and can leave the hospital whenever he pleases," Ryuzaki announced without prelude. "But I think it would be best if I got his cell phone number to call and check up on him later this afternoon."

Light had never wanted anything less than for this bizarre man to have his cell phone number, but…

He remembered how eerily Ryuzaki had guessed about his IQ last night.

And he still didn't know if he was really a doctor or not. He wasn't going to let that mystery escape him. So he cheerfully complied.

"Okay, but maybe I better get your number too in case I feel bad at any point today. Mine's 555-739-7985. What's yours?"

"555-739-6327," Ryuzaki rattled off, and Light had him repeat it two more times before he could type it into his phone. "Wow. Here we are exchanging cell phone numbers almost as if we were friends."

Light choked and nearly fell out of his bed. "Wha-what? Friends?"

"Sure," Ryuzaki continued. "It would be nice. Light-kun could be my first friend."

Light froze in his tracks. Was this guy serious… did he really have no…?

Light looked at him more carefully. Rather than looking at his creepy eyes, tousled hair or bad posture, Light looked more carefully at him. The bizarre maybe-doctor had very tight shoulders, drawn up tightly, like he was keeping something in. He was very… insecure looking.

"Sure," Light found himself blurting out, "you can be my friend."

Ryuzaki's wide eyes shot open a little more. "Really?"

Light regretted it instantly, but he didn't withdraw the offer. "Sure. I guess. I mean, I've never been friends with a doctor before."

A strange grin crept onto Ryuzaki's face and somehow Light found himself grinning back. After all, there was no better way to unravel a mystery than to make friends with it.

* * *

Hooray!! I finally updated!!

I went out to a lake the other day and I got myself horribly sunburned. I'm really badly hurting here on my shoulders and back and it's been driving me crazy. But on the upside, I now own How to read vol. 13, two L badges and the L.A. BB book (which I'm totally obsessed with.) As such I remembered that I had some Deathnote fanficcin' to do and came back to work on this. Next chap should be up pretty soon... I'll finally properly introduce Mello, YAAAAY!! I can't wait to add his character. A doctor, a singer, and an actor… The only one who has their normal career in this is Misa! Wtf!

Okay well I ramble a lot. Review, and I'll love you forever!


	5. Chapter 5

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Don't own anything. Half credit goes to Nikkiacat.

I was so happy when I opened my email inbox the other day and found the inbox bursting with alerts, reviews and faves! It makes me feel so special to know y'all care. Especially the reviewers. I hate to play favorites, but I love reviewers more than other readers. Is that wrong?

Anyways, as a reward, here's a fairly quick update! Just to say how much I love you.

* * *

Light hastily made his exit once he had exchanged numbers with Ryuzaki. The "doctor" ambled off muttering about charts and Light grabbed his tie, jacket and cell phone and hurried out of the room.

Okay, so it wasn't very friendly to rush out of the room without saying goodbye, but Light was a little rusty on this whole 'friend' business. And he doubted a gauche, manner-less person like Ryuzaki would be offended by lack of social courtesies like that.

He hurried to the waiting room and dialed the number for a taxi to come and pick him up. But before he could hit 'dial' he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

He couldn't be sure from this distance, but wasn't that blonde in the chair…?

He closed his phone and shifted slightly so that he could see the blonde's face better. Sure enough, it was the singer from the banquet-what did Matsuda call him? - Oh, yeah… Mello.

Light wasn't sure whether to talk to the singer or not. Matsuda had talked about featuring the band in an episode, so it might be useful to make a connection with him now. On the other hand, Light was too tired and he really wanted to go home-

Before he could make a decision, the singer spotted him out of the corner of his eye. "Light Yagami?" he asked.

Light winced. Looked like he had no choice now.

"Yeah, the one and only. Aren't you Mello? The singer from that band last night?"

Mello laughed. His laugh was rather immodest, and had an edge of challenge about it. It was one of those laughs that always sounded mocking, no matter what the context.

"Yeah, that'd be me. I have to admit, you stole the show from me last night. After finding out Light Yagami had collapsed, nobody even stuck around for the second song."

Light should have felt guilty, but he didn't really care. Was he to blame for the fact that people had nothing better to do with their lives than obsess over him?

"Sorry about that," he said, trying to sound good-natured. "I guess it was an inconvenience to everyone that I passed out."

Mello shrugged. He wasn't dressed in the tight leather he'd been wearing last night. Instead he was in a rumpled t-shirt and baggy jeans that looked like something Ryuzaki would have been comfortable in. His hair was messed up, too, and it looked like he'd hardly slept. Had he been here all night?

"What brings you to the hospital?" Light asked, fishing for some bit of trivia that he could use to connect to Mello.

"Oh. My brother had an operation. I'm waiting for him to come out of the OR."

"Your brother? The other guy who was onstage last night?"

"Who, Matt? Oh, god, no. My little brother. He's been in and out of the hospital for a while now. I don't even remember what this procedure he's having is called."

Light stored away this fact in the back of his mind and nodded. "Oh. I see. I remember when my sister was in the hospital. This one, in fact. It was pretty rough on all of us."

Mello shrugged. It was a very condescending gesture, as though the blonde was saying, "Poor you."

Light sensed Mello didn't care, and so he changed the direction of the conversation. "So. I heard you might be featured in an episode of my show. That's pretty cool."

Mello shrugged again. He was… cocky. It quickly grated on Light's nerves.

"I suppose it is. Our band needs all the publicity it can get if we're going to end up number one."

"Number one?" Light shifted his jacket and tie into his other arm and pushed his hair out of his face. "Not every band can be number one. It's a hard spot to obtain."

Mello turned a "no-DUH" gaze his way. "Of course it is. But I have to have it. You know what I mean, right? You must feel it to. There's a pressure to be the best and stay the best when you're famous. Otherwise you end up as a has-been with a VH1 reality show, making a damn fool of yourself in rehab."

Light REALLY didn't like his attitude, but he shrugged and agreed. "I suppose so. But even being in the top 40 is an accomplishment."

"Not good enough for me," Mello said with a small smirk that quickly widened into a grin. "There's only Number One and then everybody else."

Light's smile grew tight. If he wasn't mistaken, there was something like a challenge in those words. Was Mello challenging him? Did the singer think he could replace Light on all those magazine covers?

Bring it on.

Mello sensed the conversation trailing off and changed the topic. "So. Misa Amane, eh? You lucky, lucky bastard. I'd give an arm and a leg just to have her."

Light smirked. Ah. He had a chance to brag now. "I guess a lot of guys would. It makes me feel really lucky, you know? Someone as beautiful and famous as Misa could have anybody in the world and she chose me."

Mello's smirk diminished a little. "The media sure loves you, too."

Light, in turn, only grinned wider. "I guess so. They keep calling us the next Brad and Angelina. Maybe if Misa and I weren't dating we wouldn't get stalked so much."

The underlying message was clear: Not only am I famous, but also I have a beautiful girlfriend who makes me even MORE famous. Bask in the jealousy.

Mello clearly picked up on it and was, quite obviously, basking in the jealousy. "You're a lucky bastard," he repeated.

Light realized it then. He'd made himself an enemy- maybe even a rival.

For some reason, he couldn't be happier about it.

"Well I best be leaving you," Light said cheerfully. "I have to catch a cab. Hope your brother's operation went well." He flipped open his cell phone and, before he left, called out over his shoulder.

"See you at Number One, Mello."

In one day he'd picked up a friend and an enemy, although the lines between both were a little blurred. Well one thing was for sure. He wasn't bored anymore!

* * *

Sorry, everyone, it was a short chap and there was barely any L in it, if any :( But I promise he'll be back in all his weirdness next chap. So yay! I finally got to bring Mello into the story! I love writing him, just because he can be such an ass sometimes XD

This weekend I'm going to a water park, woo! I'm super excited because I have barely gone swimming this summer, but this time I'm putting on twice as much sunscreen…. No risking another sunburn like the last one…

Review, review, review folks! If you do, I'll love you forever. And I'm sorry there was no song this chap, either. I just decided I'm only going to add songs when I have a really good one that fits the chap. Otherwise it's just too much work XD

Anyways! Review! Mwah!


	6. Chapter 6

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Don't own anything. Half credit goes to Nikkiacat.

Hip, hip, hooray! It's another chapter of Little Things. I'm surprised how ridiculously fast my updates have been compared to my usual slowness… and how I've actually managed to keep this going. Anyone who looks at my profile will notice a history of unfinished stories and half-started series… I've only ever managed to finish one fic, not counting the one-shots. I think Little Things may be the one I actually manage to get all the way through… but I'm counting on y'all to keep me going XD

Well, enough rambling. We now bring you: Little Things chapter six!

* * *

"OH LIGHT! MISA WAS SO WORRIED! MISA TRIED TO COME TO THE HOSPITAL TO KISS YOU BETTER BUT MOTCHI WOULDN'T LET ME! MISA SAW ALL OVER THE PAPERS HOW YOU COLLAPSED! I WAS SOOOO WORRRIEEEDD!!"

Light gritted his teeth. Misa's shrill voice was enough to make him collapse again. He'd come back to work the day after his confrontation with Mello only to be assaulted by a blur of blonde and black screaming about nothing.

"It's okay, Misa," he murmured, putting a finger to her lips, "I was asleep anyways. You were probably busy and I wouldn't want you to miss work just on my account."

Misa pouted. "Aw. Light is too sweet. Of course Misa would miss work to see him! If Light so much as said the word, she'd give up acting!!"

"I don't want you to do that," Light hastily answered. A Misa without her career was useless to him. "Besides, acting and modeling makes you happy, right?"

"Yes… but…" Misa pouted. "Being with Light makes me happier."

Light sighed and embraced the small blonde. She was barefoot, and he realized she was even shorter than he'd first thought. If he'd wanted, he could've rested his chin on top of her head.

Not that he wanted to.

"I know, Misa. Don't worry. I'm fine. I have to go, okay? Matsuda is probably looking for me."

Misa twisted the tail of Light's shirt around her black-polished fingertips. "I was hoping to see you some today. Seeing as Misa couldn't come to the ball or the hospital… we've only seen each other at work…"

"I'll call you later and see about meeting up, I promise," Light lied. "Unless something urgent comes up, I'll call you."

Misa grinned brilliantly and released him. "Okay! Love you, my Light! Talk to you later!"

"Yeah, you too," Light said, turning to leave. The quicker he got away and found Matsuda, the quicker he could forget that he ever intended to call.

As expected, the media and all his coworkers were buzzing about his collapse at the show. He managed to quell even the most insistent whispers with a smile and a few words, but he knew people's minds were still racing. That was why it was important that he be seen back in the studio as soon as possible. The more days he missed, the stronger the rumors would grow.

And to be honest, he didn't feel bad at all. He believed what that strange doctor had said about the heat being the cause.

That strange "doctor"… Ryuzaki…. Light found that the oddball was constantly at the back of his mind. He couldn't stop puzzling over it… thinking about him… piecing together the clues he had. So far he'd come to this conclusion: Ryuzaki was not a real doctor.

A few things had led him to believe that. One was the absence of ID and coat when he had been in Light's hospital room. There was also the nurse's reaction to Ryuzaki, and obviously the pale boy's age and appearance didn't fit.

But Light couldn't completely write off that he was a person of influence. After all, hadn't the hospital director himself been conferring with him? And he did seem to be known around the hospital, enough so that nurses recognized him and didn't kick him out of Light's room. So Light came to this conclusion:

The strange boy was a genius who'd never attended medical school.

When he thought about it, it seemed to fit. Ryuzaki was far too young to have completed the four years of medical school, internship and everything else that a doctor had to go through. Light guessed him at somewhere around 20… that meant Ryuzaki would have had to be 14 when he first started to complete six years of study. It was also unlikely that he was a nurse, but Light couldn't disregard that option either. However it seemed more likely that he'd never so much as taken a medical course.

The most likely situation, Light realized after hours of pondering, was this: Ryuzaki was someone who spent a lot of time in hospitals. Either Watari was some relation of his, perhaps his father, or Ryuzaki was a frequent patient at the hospital. Whatever the case, it had sparked an interest in medicine at an early age. Ryuzaki had probably been reading medical textbooks and watching operations since he was a small child. As such, he would have known as much about medicine as any doctor, but combined with his intellect he probably would have been more formidable. Light knew for a fact that Ryuzaki had to be a genius. He HAD to be. That was why he'd known about Light's I.Q. Who better to recognize brilliance than a fellow braniac?

Of course, all of this was speculation, and it might not have been even the slightest bit true. But if it was, this was probably how it worked: Ryuzaki never directly dealt with any patient. It seemed probable that Watari handed him details and had other doctors do all the legwork and actual treatment. Ryuzaki probably gave orders from the shadows, making it seem as though Watari was the one making all the decisions and judgments. In a situation like that, Watari would get all the credit for the diagnosis, but he probably rewarded Ryuzaki somehow. Maybe he gave the oddity money, or a place to stay, or something.

No matter what else Light thought of, that was the most possible situation. He was almost amazed at his own brilliance.

Almost.

Of course, he had no way to confirm this at the moment, but now that he had a theory, he felt much better. That meant Ryuzaki wasn't an unknown factor, a mystery. If he knew his… acquaintance, he could better figure out what to do with him.

Maybe the best solution was just not to have anything to do with him at all. He was creepy… and strange… and brilliant… and he seemed to know Light better than anyone else… but he was creepy….

Light shook his head. He'd been spacing out again. He was currently roaming around the studio looking for Matsuda. He hadn't been on the set, and he hadn't been answering his phone, so Light had to roam around asking if anyone had seen him. What an annoyance. Light gave up temporarily and sat down.

"Light!" called out a voice- the very person he'd been looking for had found him.

"Matsuda," he snapped, irritably from all the walking. "Where have you been?"

"I'm so sorry, I've been looking for you," implored the foolish man. "Guess what? I have great news."

Light rolled his eyes. "What would that be?"

"I've been talking to the director and the producer. They've got a great idea. You know how I told you Kira needed a rival?"

"Yes?"

"Well, they've found somebody to play him. They started talking to that singer Mello's people… and they found out he has a background in acting, too, and he's interested in a part in the show. We're making him audition and all, but it's pretty much established that he might get the part."

Light's jaw dropped.

Oh, HELL no.

Who the HELL did that brat think he was?

There was NO damn chance he'd be in Light's show! No! Nononono!!

"I don't think we should do it," he snapped at his manager. "Having some crossover artist trying to make a name through our show? The fans will hate it. He probably can't act for crap. He probably won't even be able to handle the stress. He's probably on drugs. I don't want him on my show."

Matsuda looked confused. "But he said you two met yesterday and were good friends…"

Light gnashed his teeth. Of course they were friends. If friends tried to kill each other's careers.

"Whatever," he snapped. "I don't care. What's on my agenda today? I just showed up here to find that out."

"Nothing," Matsu mumbled sheepishly. "I should've called and told you. There's not really anything on today. We don't film again till next week."

Light groaned. "Well in that case I'm going home. I expect you to talk the producers out of letting that wannabe on our show. Call me when there's something worth doing."

"Yeah… I will…" the manager murmured. "See you later, Light."

"Yeah, yeah." Light stormed off without even looking back.

He furiously flipped through the channels at home, ready to throw the remote through the TV screen. Things just kept sucking worse and worse in his life. There was no way that Mello could… he shouldn't even dare to… it was LIGHT'S show! HE was the star!!

The phone rang, snapping him out of his train of thought. Oh, great, it was probably Misa. Light looked at the caller ID, intending to ignore it if it was his 'girlfriend'.

But the number was 555-739-6327.

That was… Ryuzaki's.

Light picked it up quickly. "Hello?"

"Ah. Light-kun answered."

"Obviously. This is Ryuzaki, right?"

"That would be correct."

"You know, Ryuzaki, it's polite to introduce yourself at the beginning of a phone call, or at least to say 'hello'."

"Is it?"

Light sighed. Trying to tell Ryuzaki what was polite was probably useless. "So why are you calling?"

"Can't two friends simply have a chat?"

"Um…."

"Actually, this is a standard checkup. I wanted to know how Light is doing. Any symptoms? Any dizzy spells or blackouts?"

"No. I've been fine. But you can't really do a checkup over the phone, you know."

"Then is Light available to come to the hospital?"

"Uh-"

"I see. Then I must make a house call. I will be at Light's residence in ten minutes."

"What?" Light started to say but Ryuzaki had already hung up.

He shook his head. Well, there was about to be a "doctor" in the house.

* * *

Okay, so there wasn't as much L as I had promised in this chap, but I kind of needed a transition chapter like this before I can move things along. But as you can tell, he's going to be in the next one! Woo!

I had so much fun at the water park this weekend. And I didn't get sunburn- WOOOO! For me, that's a major accomplishment. In other news, I now have turquoise hair! It was kind of spur of the moment- and it didn't turn out like I hoped it would, but- it's still pretty cool. I look like an anime character, or a mermaid, or both XD I've got to take a picture of it. It's crazy.

Well, review folks, cause I love you and graced you with another wonderful chap (cocky much?) XD And don't forget- keep reading!! Mwah!! Oh! And guess what? This chapter reached over 2000 words! Yay!!


	7. Chapter 7

The Little Things Give You Away

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Don't own anything. Half credit goes to Nikkiacat.

Can you believe it? Seven whole chapters! I'm going to give everyone a special reward when I hit chapter ten. I'm going to draw a picture for you!

Actually…. The picture is already on my Myspace, and if you want to see it, you can just go there XD You can even get a little sneak peek into way ahead in Little Things and see my doodles in the margins. I (hopefully) took my profile off private, so you should be able to get there now (coughcoughincywincy… I'm sorrycoughcough) from a link on my profile.

All right. With that said, here's chapter seven!!

_You're awful, I love you..._

Ryuzaki didn't lie. It was EXACTLY ten minutes, not a second over, when there was a knock on Light's door. He wasn't even sure how Ryuzaki knew which condo was his. Light stumbled over the couch and nearly fell on his face trying to reach the door. In the background, the TV still blared.

He opened the door with his heart thumping in his chest. (Why was he so nervous?) "Uh-hello?"

Without so much as a word of greeting, Ryuzaki stuck his hand out and smacked it into Light's forehead.

"Gah-wha- WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Light snapped, stepping back from the doorway. Even he wasn't able to maintain his perfect composure after being ASSAULTED like that!

"Temperature- normal," Ryuzaki muttered to himself. He then proceeded to draw closer to light and grope his chest- or that's what it seemed.

"A 'hello' would be nice," Light continued. "Or a 'Hello, Light, I'm going to take your temperature now.' Not, WHACK, smack in the forehead!"

"Heart rate slightly elevated," Ryuzaki murmured to himself, seemingly not hearing a single word that the enraged TV star said.

If anyone had assaulted Kira like this, he'd have chopped his or her head off with a flaming sword. It was times like these that Light wished he really did have supernatural powers.

_Corporate and cold, gushing for gold-leave me alone._

"You seem perfectly healthy," Ryuzaki said, finally looking up to address Light. "How have you been feeling?"

"Oh, NOW you bother with the common courtesies," hissed the brunette in anger. "For your information, I've been rather pissed off."

"That's no good for your blood pressure," Ryuzaki said, nodding in a rather self-assured way. "If Light doesn't control his anger, he's dooming himself to death of stroke or heart attack."

Light sighed and beckoned Ryuzaki in, closing the door behind him. It was no good causing a scene in the hallway. He could yell at the oddball once they were safely inside.

Ryuzaki promptly made a beeline for the couch and crouched on it in that odd way of his. "Light-kun has a very nice place. Did he decorate this himself?"

"No," Light murmured, "my mom and sister helped me. My mom's pretty heavily into interior- you just made yourself at home, didn't you?"

Ryuzaki truly had. He'd already picked up the remote and flipped from the music channel where Light had it to the Discovery channel and was intently watching some program about wildebeests.

"Oh, pardon my rudeness," Ryuzaki mumbled without looking away from the TV. "Is it alright if I watch your television set, Light-kun? This is a rather fascinating show."

"Uh…. Sure." Light was almost speechless. Almost. He found his 'good host' autopilot switching on. "Do you want some coffee or something?"

"That would be lovely," Ryuzaki said blandly. "Six sugars, please."

"… What?"

"Six."

And Ryuzaki called himself a doctor? Surely he was joking. "How about I just bring the sugar out and let you put it in yourself?" Light hissed with a saccharine smile. This weirdo- he was the most- RUDE, the- the FOULEST, the CRAZIEST-

_You suck so passionately_

You're a parasitic, psycho, filthy creature

_Finger-bangin' my heart._

_You call me up drunk, does the fun ever start?_

_You're hideous...and sexy!_

- The most positively surprising person Light had ever met.

He poured two cups of coffee and, along with coasters, saucers, cream, and sugar, set them on the coffee table. If he'd learned anything from his Japanese parents, it was how to be a good host. And proper table manners.

Neither of which Ryuzaki seemed to have the slightest knowledge of. He loaded his coffee with- count them- one, two, three, four, five, SIX spoonfuls of sugar and slurped at it loudly.

A few seconds ticked by in which Light sat, in stunned silence, and listened to the maybe-fake-doctor sip at his drink. What did he say now? Did he explode at the weirdo? Ask him what exactly he wanted? Confront him with Light's theories about his employment?

In the end, he settled with asking, "Why so much sugar?"

"I like my coffee sweet," was all Ryuzaki answered with. He didn't meet Light's eyes as he said this- his vision was still trained onto the screen before him. "So Light tells me he has been angry? What on earth could be the cause of this?"

_YOU COULD!_ Light wanted to scream, but he restrained himself. "It's the stress of work," he said as calmly as he could. "I've gotten a bit of competition lately, and it seems as though I have a rival."

"Oh? That could indeed cause stress," Ryuzaki said, nodding again. "Is it another actor who seeks to destroy your reputation? Or perhaps a rival for Misa Amane's heart?"

"It's somebody who wants to break into the acting industry and steal my spot as up-and-coming new talent," Light muttered, brushing his hair back. "In my opinion, they have no place trying to be an actor. Musicians should stick to music, and actors should stick to acting. When they try to cross over you end up with god-awful abominations like Miley Cyrus and Hilary Duff."

"Don't forget Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton."

"They're just sluts," Light murmured. "Paris was famous even before she tried acting or singing. All she had to do was release a sex tape."

"Light-kun doesn't have a sex tape floating around there anywhere, does he?" Ryuzaki said, finally tearing his attention from the Discovery channel to stare. His eyes were horribly wide and dark.

"No!" sputtered the teen star. "I, thankfully, have a clean reputation."

"That's good," the faux-doctor mumbled, sounding slightly disappointed. What was WITH this guy?

"So why the sudden interest in my personal life?" Light asked, sipping gracefully at his coffee. (It only had TWO-sugars. He was quite normal, thank you.)

"No reason. I thought friends talked about things like that."

Oh, that's right. He had agreed the other day in the hospital that he would be friends with the medical wonder. How or why he had agreed was a mystery to him now. He must have been temporarily insane, and he was now greatly regretting the decision.

_You've got the mark of the beast._

_You're born of a jackal! You're beautiful!_

"Oh. Yeah, I…. I suppose they do. Very well. Tell me about YOUR life."That was more like it- the teen star had turned the conversation in Ryuzaki's direction. Now he could find out if his theories were correct.

"Boring enough," Ryuzaki murmured. "The most exciting case was a girl who thought her hair as falling out because she had a curse on her. In actuality, her roommate was just mad and put Nair in her shampoo."

"Ew," Light wrinkled his nose. "So… what exactly do you do? I mean, are you just a general family doctor, or an allergist, or a radiologist, or a neurology expert, or-?"

"Light-kun seems rather up-to-date on his medical fields," Ryuzaki said with a half-smile.

"Yeah, well… I watch ER. And House. And Scrubs, although that won't tell you much about actual medicine."

"I presumed Light would have too busy a social life to watch so much TV."

Damn it, he had turned the topic right back around to Light, successfully avoiding answering his question. He was good.

"Well… aside from Misa, I don't meet with too many people outside of work. I take some time off to meet my family, but…"

"Oh, really? Light seems like such a social butterfly, though."

"Eh. Best to keep to yourself out of the media spotlight. It generally assures a healthier career. I guess that's only for actors, though. Doctors might have a whole different set of pressures on them."

The conversation was like a game of tennis, back and forth, and Light had sent the ball back to Ryuzaki's side. Was he going to bounce it back or miss?

"Different, but perhaps equally trying," The presumed-doctor shrugged. "We don't have the paparazzi to hound us like you do."

Evidently, he was going to bounce it back. Well, two could play at that.

"But surely it's harder to hold life in your hands each and every day, and have people counting on you?"

"But a doctor mustn't keep up appearances like an actor. Once the doctor goes home, he leaves his job behind, but a celebrity is constantly reminded what he is."

"Surely it's not that easy to escape for you. I mean, you must have some work to take home with you. Charts? Case files?"

"Light-kun must be watching too much House. It's really just a job."

Light sighed. He was as evasive as the day was long, and he was good at it, too. He wasn't going to get anything out of Ryuzaki like this. Time to try a new direction.

"I guess you're right. But an actor doesn't have to do as much school. I went to an art school, which has to be considerably more laid-back than medical school. Was it hard? Was there a lot of pressure?'

"Oh, enormous pressure," Ryuzaki said, sounding totally unconvincing. "But at least I didn't have to spend my time surrounded by drama kids. I hear they're known for their oddities. And… homosexuality."

Light flinched. "Don't believe everything you hear. Not all theatre kids are gay."

Ryuzaki almost smiled. "Oh, of course. So very rude of me, to generalize like that."

They sat in silence for a few more seconds. Light took another sip of his coffee. This was it. It was now or never.

"Ryuzaki," he asked, carefully setting his cup down, "you're not really a doctor, are you?"

Ryuzaki's expression didn't even change. "Why, what a question, Light-kun. Why would you ask that?"

"Don't beat around the bush, just tell me."

Ryuzaki's dark eyes turned to look at Light. "Okay, fine. The truth is…"

Aaaaand she ends it without telling you XD Do you hate me now? I'd like to hear what everyone thinks, ha.

My green hair is fading. It makes me sad. And I had to go get a physical today for this art school I'm going to, so my arm hurts where they stabbed me with the needle. Yes, just like Light, I'm going to be spending all my time around drama kids XD The art school kids around here really do have a reputation for being strange…. Bu I think they're just my type of people XD Besides, I happen to know that many an anime and manga fan lives there. I'm hoping my roommates will like Deathnote… :3 Anyways, enough about me. Does anyone know this chapter's song? It's relatively new. I think, somehow, it fits their strange relationship perfectly… he's so disgusted with Ryuzaki, but so attracted to him… and Light isn't perfect, either….

Anyways, review! Please! If you do, I'll love you forever. And remember, I drew pictures for you! So you better make me feel you deserve it XD


	8. Chapter 8

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Don't own anything. Half credit goes to Nikkiacat.

Speaking of Nikkiacat (you know, that author I'm always plugging?) I'd just like to make an advertisement in her favor. She's just published her fourth-ever story on and it'd make me super happy to know some of my readers checked her out! I promise she's funny, and her writing isn't atrocious XD So… you can find her on my favorite authors list. Help a newbie to the site grow!!

Now that I've made that PSA, here's my next chapter! Are you on the edge of your seat? Excellent… (Now I sound like Mr. Burns, LOL.)

* * *

"Have you ever heard of the elusive Dr. L?"

Light raised an eyebrow and peered into those coal-black eyes. "The elusive Dr. L?"

"Yes." Ryuzaki seemed rather amused. "He's something of a legend around the hospital. It's said that when nobody else can solve the case, Dr. L swoops in with just the right information to piece the cure together. The most mysterious thing is, no one has ever seen L's face. He's never so much as entered a patient's room before."  
L's voice had the tone of someone bragging.

Light smiled. He couldn't help it, it was borderline smirk. He was right. All his theories were right, weren't they? "I presume this legendary L might actually be a skinny guy with panda eyes."

"I'm not that skinny," Ryuzaki countered. (But he really was. Light imagined that his ribs were visible under his baggy clothes.)

"Nevertheless. It's clever." Light had to hold back a laugh. He knew it! He was always right! "Do any of the doctors around the hospital know your identity?"

"What identity? I'm just Ryuu, the idiosyncratic oddball that makes all the nurses laugh."

Light smirked. If that was right, and none of the doctors or nurses knew who he was, then Light's theory about Ryuzaki's education had to be right. If Ryuzaki had to hide behind shadows and pseudonyms, there was a high chance it was because he had no medical degree.

"But why would… Dr. L… keep up the façade?" He put on his most innocent and inquisitive look. "Shouldn't he come out and be recognized for his talents?"

"Dr. L has no need of those things."

"What about money?" Now Light was getting straight to the point. He had no illusions about this eccentric fool doing what he did solely out of kindness. Ryuzaki looked like a lot of things, but a bleeding heart wasn't one of them. "Surely L gets paid somehow for his assistance. How can he get paid if no-one knows his name or who he is?"

Ryuzaki returned his attention to the Discovery Channel. (It was talking about the mating habits of wildebeests. It was rather disturbing how raptly he was watching it.) "Dr. L receives no pay."

"Then why would he take on cases?" Now Light's mind was beginning to form questions. The HOW he'd gotten easily enough, but WHY? "Purely out of the kindness of his heart?"

Ryuzaki's lips turned up as he went to chew on his thumbnail. "No, I think that if he had to state a motivation, it would simply be this: Doctor L likes challenges."

The teenage star sat back to absorb this information. It wasn't what he expected to hear. He'd have accepted Ryuzaki as an altruist before he thought of that. For the challenge itself? A game the faux-physician played, where the only reward was the game itself?

Could Light ever live a life like that?

The more he thought about it, the more impossible it seemed. When he thought about his career, he had a list of motivations that went on and on. He did it for fame, for recognition, for a living, to make his parents proud…

But did he act for the love of acting?

Living a life like Ryuzaki, a life where he gained nothing from his profession but the satisfaction of a job well done… It seemed redundant and stupid.

Or was it just impossibly wise? Like some kind of Zen master?

But that brought up the image of Ryuzaki with a shaven head and in monk's robes, and that wasn't an appealing sight at all. Light shuddered and picked his cup back up, taking a long swig as if washing a bad taste from his mouth.

The 'elusive doctor L' noticed his silence and turned to look at him once more. "What was Light's childhood like?"

Light nearly spat out his coffee. That came totally out of left field.

"What?"

"I was asking Light what his childhood was like. What did he want to be when he grew up? What was his home like?"

"That's awfully personal, Ryuzaki…" Light said cautiously. What gave this man the right to ask him that?

"I simply wanted to know more about my first friend."

That's right… first friend. Only friend. Thinking of Ryuzaki, all alone in the world, almost made Light's heart break-

Light shook his head. What was he thinking? This was the stranger who barged into his house and made himself at home. He was a mystery to unravel, a fun thing to pick apart, and nothing more. Once Light had solved every riddle that made up Ryuzaki, he'd be done with him and never see him again.

Even if he was the amazing L's only friend.

Ryuzaki pressed onwards. "So? How was it?"

Light looked away from the… medical wonder. For some reason, he couldn't stand to look at him.

"It was okay. I had a nice home, I was the top of my class at school. My dad worked a lot. He got injured a few times, which was scary… he's a cop, you see."

"That's a dangerous line of work."

"Yes, well, that's what we always told him. And yet he still hasn't retired, even though he has no need to work anymore since I send money home."

"He sounds like a noble man."

"Noble… I guess that's a good word for it. He's… gallant. Old-fashioned, like one of those knights you hear about in fairy tales." Light shrugged a little, as if casting off a weight from his shoulders. "But I wanted to be a cop when I grew up, too."

Ryuzaki seemed interested. "How did you get from policeman to actor?"

Light realized he was giving up more information than he'd taken, but it seemed harmless to tell this. "I wanted to be an undercover agent. You know, taking on the roles of others, wearing disguises, infiltrating. It seemed glamorous. I figured I needed to know how to act to be an undercover cop and… One thing led to another and I got discovered when I was fifteen."

"And the rest is recorded in gleaming color in the pages of Teen People, issue 476."

Light shot a strange look at Ryuzaki. "Yeah.. I think that's the issue."

"It is. I know. The hospital stocks many issues of Teen People."

Right. No wonder he knew those bizarre, old interviews Light had done ages ago. Another mystery unraveled.

"Yeah, so.. there you go."

Light looked down into his coffee cup, at the mating wildebeests on the screen, anywhere but into those dark-shadowed eyes. (But he didn't really want to watch the mating wildebeests, either. So he fixed his gaze rather firmly on his coffee.) This all seemed too… intimate, too cozy. He couldn't get too attached to Ryuzaki. He'd already decided it was better not to have anything to do with him, right?

Light cleared his throat. "Um, what time will you be needing to leave, Ryuzaki?" It was getting close to eight o' clock. It had been around seven by the time Light came home from the studio, and nearly an hour before Ryuzaki called had been wasted watching TV in a blind rage… Actually, when Light looked at his watch, it was closer to 8:30. Had Ryuzaki actually been here that long?

"No time in particular. I can call my ride at any time."

Light tried to figure out a polite way to say 'call your ride now, because I'm done with you.' Nothing came to mind.

Ryuzaki spoke before Light could suggest that he was ready to go to bed. (Which was better, because, unless they were over sixty or under six, almost no-one went to bed at 8:30.)

"If Light could make a list of all the things he wanted to accomplish in his remaining lifetime, what would it be?"

That sounded like a corny question a magazine interviewer would ask. Light considered loading it with the usual bullcrap everyone wanted to hear, but abstained.

"Why would you ask that?"

"It simply tells a lot about a person. I assumed we were getting to know each other."

More like you're getting to know me and evading all my questions, Light thought, but he made no comment. "Well… I suppose everyone essentially wants to accomplish the same thing in his or her lifetime. We all want to have a successful career, find our supposed soul mate, have a family… it's not very complicated."

"But is that what Light wants for his future?"

"Well, I've never really thought about it." Light looked upwards, as though searching for divine inspiration. "But I guess, yeah, it is. It'd also be nice to travel a bit, see the world, but that's not a priority. My work will probably lead to a fair bit of travel anyways." He cast that seeking gaze on Ryuzaki. "What does the miracle doctor L want to accomplish?"

Ryuzaki chewed pensively on his thumbnail. "I think I would like to fall in love."

Light waited for more, but nothing came. "And?"

"I can't think of much else."

Light nearly exploded. "That's ridiculous! Surely you have some kind of ambition. I mean, you can't live as a shadowy doctor forever, never getting recognition and pay for your abilities! Surely you want to make a successful home? Raise money? See the world? SOMETHING!?"

Ryuzaki's tone seemed almost… acidic as he said the next statement. "I simply won't ever accomplish those things, so I have no desire to."

Light was baffled. "What do you mean you won't accomplish them?"

"It's as simple as that."

Light couldn't figure this guy out. He CHOSE to live as a mystery, hiding behind a pseudonym and working for only satisfaction, but yet he sounded bitter that it was all he'd ever do? Couldn't he change things?

"At any rate," Ryuzaki continued, "I do wish to fall in love. That seems like a rather pleasant experience."

The teen star sat back against the couch, crossing his legs. "I wouldn't have taken you for a romantic."

"I'm not. But I would like to be."

"Why? So you can sigh and dream and wish your life away?' Light had never been a romantic. He liked the idea of family, and of raising children, but love seemed like an unnecessary and foolish step in the process.

On the TV, a narrator with an upper crust British accent explained how wildebeests migrated. Ryuzaki continued to meet Light's eyes instead of watching it. "Men with beautiful girlfriends should not sound so jaded. I assumed you were madly in love."

The teen star winced. Oh, right. He was the happy loving boyfriend. He abandoned all his roles at home and often forgot to put them back on. "Yeah, I guess. I'm just cautious. Don't give my heart away too easily."

The doctor-for-pretend shrugged and finally looked back at the TV. He picked up the remote and changed the channel. It was some Lifetime original movie, something soppy like they specialized in. "Jaded," Ryuzaki commented.

Light rolled his eyes. "Well, enough about that. You tell me something about you. What do you do in your spare time?"

"Watch TV and read magazines."

"Anything else?"

"No."

He was being as unresponsive as that first day Light had met him. It got irritating quickly. "You have to have some kind of hobby besides solving unsolvable cases and rotting your brain on TV and magazines."

"There isn't that much to do at a hospital."

Light paused. "But what about when you go home?" Then it hit him. There was no going home. Ryuzaki lived at the hospital.

* * *

…. That wasn't a cliffhanger, was it? I mean, ok… it kind of was …. But not too drastic XD I'm really bad about ending on cliffhangers. How ELSE are you supposed to end a chapter?

In other news, I now have black hair, it's two weeks until I move in to the art school, and I… have been… to DISNEY WORLD. OMFG, it was amazing, I don't care what anybody says. Surprisingly, they have a lot of Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise there. And hardly any Alice in Wonderland stuff, which disappoints me. XD This proves how much of a nerd I am: I was walking around Disney World, and the whole time I kept thinking, "This really makes me want to finally play Kingdom Hearts." And then I got the wonderful idea that one day, I should cosplay Sora and walk around getting my picture taken with various Disney characters XD But sadly the only KH merch I found was a Sora figure in the Japan section of Epcot…

… But enough of that XD Review, my lovelies, and I might just post another chapter before school starts. I love you all!!


	9. Chapter 9

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Don't own anything. Half credit goes to Nikkiacat.

Rare as it is, I happen to have some spare time with the laptop today, so I'll be gracing you with a REALLY FAST UPDATE. But don't get used to it. Because this Sunday… I MOVE IN TO MY DORM. ZOMG I'm losing my mind. But anyways. I promise that the long chapters of dialogue won't last forever and this plot is actually gong to GO somewhere, I just have to get past all this. Also, I was originally going to write this chapter very differently, but I realized I was developing the characters too much, too fast and it was no good to reveal all their secrets just yet. So instead of being nice, L's going to be an ass. You'll see what I mean XD.

* * *

Light's realization hit him a bit like an atom bomb and he didn't know WHAT to think. He had at least five possible reasons why Ryuzaki COULD live at the hospital, but none of them seemed plausible. What could he do? Confront the doctor-in-disguise with what he'd just found out, or try to steer the conversation that way?

Ryuzaki seemed to realize they were headed for dangerous ground, because he abruptly changed the subject. "Did Light-kun have any friends growing up?"

It almost made Light angry. This shadowy-eyed man could ask any personal question he wanted about Light, but he was evasive as hell when it came to answering about himself, and he wouldn't voluntarily give up a shred of information. It was the worst kind of hypocrisy.

"I thought we said enough about me," Light said pleasantly. "We were discussing you, friend."

"I'm not interesting," Ryuzaki said flatly, and pressed onwards. "Light seems like he was popular as a child."

"It's not of any interest," Light snapped, and all the irritation that had been building up tonight threatened to show through his carefully built façade. "I don't really want to talk about myself."

"Then there's no use in a conversation," Ryuzaki murmured. He looked at the TV, which was now thankfully not blaring about mating wildebeests. Instead, some b-list actress sobbed as the girl she portrayed found out she was adopted.

Light stood up, taking every ounce of composure not to fling over the coffee table. "You're infuriating!" he snapped.

Ryuzaki shrugged. "If that's the case, Light-kun shouldn't be friends with me."

Light stood there, seething for a minute, and was almost prepared to announce that he had no desire to.

Two things stopped him. The first was the daunting question at the back of his mind: Why does Ryuzaki live at the hospital?

The second was the way Ryuzaki's eyes looked like dark smudges of shadow against his pale, pale, face. They were… almost haunted.

Light mentally recited a meditation mantra and sat back down. "You live at the hospital, don't you, Ryuzaki?"

The scrawny boy nodded, making a vague noise.

Light cleared his throat. He needed to change the subject. "I don't feel well," he muttered.

Ryuzaki instantly looked up, fully alert and aware. It was as though someone had flipped on a switch. "Oh? What would be the problem?"

He immediately moved forwards and pressed a hand against Light's forehead, engrossed in finding the boy's temperature.

His other hand felt for Light's heart and the teen star blushed a little. Ryuzaki's hands were large and warm. Where were these thoughts coming from? Was it strange that he noticed that?

"Light-kun's temperature does seem slightly elevated… and his heart rate did increase just now…"

His body was betraying him! Light was only warm because of the blush that had just hit his cheeks, and his heart rate had sped up because his idiotic mind had to notice meaningless facts about Ryuzaki's hands like how surprisingly soft they were.

"It's not that," light hurriedly said, pulling away from the false doctor. "I just meant that I was tired." He'd only said he didn't feel well to distract both of them from the tension in the air.

Ryuzaki peered at Light with those horribly unnerving eyes. "Are you sure that's the only symptom?"

"You're all business when it comes to health, aren't you?" Light joked, going to take a swig of coffee and then realizing that his mug was empty. "And I'm positive."

Ryuzaki nodded repeatedly. "I see."

"Would you like more coffee?" Light asked as he stood up and collected the dishes from the table. His guest didn't make so much as an effort to help.

"No thank you."

Light piled all the cups in the sink and rinsed them. He had a maid to do hardcore cleaning every other week, but he was capable of the basics like putting his dishes in the dishwasher and making up his bed. It was simply the rest he couldn't handle- vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing the bathroom, etc. He piled the cups in the dishwasher and turned it on.

When he got back into the living room, his guest was fidgeting around nervously, inspecting Light's DVD collection.

"Bored?" Light asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes," Ryuzaki said flatly. (How impolite!)

Light realized that since the doctor had been here, they'd only sat in the living room and chatted. (Well, battled was more like it.) His proper host autopilot was kicking in again.

"I guess you haven't seen the rest of the place," Light offered. "Want the grand tour?"

Ryuzaki shrugged and made an 'after you' motion with his hands.

Light led him down the hallway. "Well, on the right is the bathroom if you need it… Here's my room, and here's the guest room… Back there in the living room is a way to the balcony, and in here is the … I guess you could call it the studio. I keep my books and computer in here."

Ryuzaki made a beeline for the bookcase. "Light is fond of reading, I see."

The teen tsar shrugged a little. "When I have time."

"There's quite a range here. Anne Rice… Niccolo Machiavelli… Arthur Conan Doyle… Isaac Asimov and Clive Barker?"

"That's just part of it," the teen star said with a laugh. "I should take the time someday to arrange them by author and title, but right now they're just jumbled around."

The sometimes-doctor looked around the room. "This is a very nice room, and it isn't even Light's bedroom. Given the choice, I'd sleep somewhere like this, surrounded by books."

Light was having another of those moments of temporary insanity. An idea kept nagging at him, and he couldn't dismiss it even though he knew it was clearly insane.

Pushing it to the back of his thoughts, he went over and picked out a book. "You should read this one- 'If On A Winter's Night A Traveler', by Italo Calvino. It's fantastic, it plays with literary devices and stories-within-a-story and second person narration…"

Ryuzaki wasn't looking at the book in Light's hand. He was staring, as if hypnotized, at Light's face.

Light lost his train of thought and stumbled over his words. "You could… um, borrow… um…"

Ryuzaki's eyes wouldn't leave Light's. "I would like that," he murmured.

Damn it, Light's idea was now dancing in front of his face, begging to be carried out. He couldn't take it, so he blurted it out.

"You know, Ryuzaki," he exclaimed, "I never know when I could get sick!"

The dark-eyed boy looked at him strangely and the 18-year-old realized he was making no sense. He quickly continued.

"I don't actually have a doctor of my own. Whenever I get sick I usually just go to wherever I'm closest to at the moment. But… it would be much easier if I had a doctor of my own, that I can just call when something's up."

Ryuzaki tilted his head and looked blankly at Light.

"It'd be even easier if I could just go home and get medical treatment," Light continued, "that way when I was bedridden, I wouldn't have to try to get to a doctor's office."

Ryuzaki's eyes widened more then they already were. "If Light-kun is-"

"If you want," Light murmured, "you could stay in this room. With all my books. I mean- this is just up to you. But it sure would be convenient to have my own personal Doctor L here. And, anyways, L doesn't need to stay at the hospital, right? He can just work cases over the phone."

Ryuzaki was stunned silent for a full minute. Actually stunned. Light could get to like shocking the pale boy.

Finally, he managed to get the words out, in a small, carefully flat voice that barely restrained emotion. 'Yes. I would like that, Light-kun."

* * *

Wooooow! He finally did it! I've been building up to that for the last three chapters and now I finally got it out! Next chapter there will be lots more storyline progressing and Mello will finally get some development XD I had SO much trouble with this chapter that it's not even funny, and I don't even know why.  But I managed to get it out. I hope I don't start getting blocked!

In personal news… hmm… I saw The Dark knight recently, and it was AMAZING. That, and I went to a CARNIVAL! To anyone who doesn't know me, I'm pretty much OBSESSED with carnivals. Any time I get to go to one I get uber happy, and I got to go with my boyfriend and see friends I haven't seen in MONTHS since school ended, so it was a good day. Anyways! Review por favor! Love you all!


	10. Chapter 10

The Little Things Give You Away

Chapter 10

I don't own anything. Half credit goes to Nikkiacat.

So, here it is! Chapter ten! Are you excited? I sure am. I know I haven't updated in a while, but I hope to change that. Don't get your hopes up too much, but there's a chance I may be updating once a week once things get rolling here. YAY! Anyways, I've just checked that super-awesome new features on - you know what I'm talking about, the Reader Traffic and Stats features. I spent a good twenty minutes that I could have been typing looking at what different countries my readers were from, what c2 communities I was part of (I had no idea Little Things was in any of them!!) and how many favs and alerts I had! It's crazy! Last i checked, I have 8,235 hits, 85 alerts, 42 favs, and 146 reviews. Thank you SOOOOO much guys! Keep those numbers comin'! I love y'all till the end of time! And so, without further ado, it's Little Things, Chapter 10!!

* * *

Light hauled his battered air mattress out of its hiding place in the closet and inflated it for Ryuzaki. The oddball and soon-to-be housemate sat awkwardly atop it and glanced at the shelves around him.

"You'll be alright for tonight then?" Light asked, twisting his hands together. He'd never really done this before; he hadn't the faintest idea how to handle it. All that Yagami confidence was gone and even his excuse for Ryuzaki staying had been transparent.

"I'll be fine," the faux-physician muttered around his thumb. "Light-kun must need sleep. Doesn't he have to work in the morning?"

"Oh! Um… Yes, I do." And awkward silence blossomed for a minute before Ryuzaki snipped it off.

"Goodnight, Yagami-kun."

Light cleared his throat. "Goodnight. And… um, in the morning or tomorrow while I'm at work, you can, um… get your stuff here and we'll find a place to put it." Damn it. Light Yagami, celebrity superstar and all-around god of television, was stumbling over his words. This had to stop. "Goodnight," Light repeated before hurrying out of the room.

He lay on his bed that night thinking like there was no tomorrow. That pale oddball had a profound effect on him that HE DIDN'T LIKE. Already, in the very short time that he'd known the weirdo, he'd declared him his friend, revealed to him a little more than he'd have revealed to an ordinary person, and now invited him to LIVE with him. It was preposterous! He wouldn't even invite Misa, his own sort-of-girlfriend, to live with him, and that would've been a media holiday!

_It's just pity, _a small voice in his head reassured. _You just pity this awkward stranger with a hospital bed for a home. _ It was reassuring to put a label on his on erratic behavior, but pity didn't seem to be exactly the right word for it.

What the right word was, he didn't know, and when he finally fell asleep at nearly 3 a.m., he still didn't know.

Light woke up in the morning to his phone blaring "Lollipop" by Lil' Wayne. He groaned and snatched it off his bedside.

"Hnh?"

"Hello, Light Yagami? This is Yuri from Calendar Cleaning Services. I just wanted to remind you that your maid will be stopping by for your scheduled cleaning today."

"Mmk." Light murmured and snapped his phone shut. He rolled out of bed, yawned, and stumbled towards the bathroom, scratching.

He pushed the bathroom door ajar and froze in his tracks.

There was someone in his bathroom.

Naked.

Light's heart pounded in his chest. Who- why-!?

Ohhhhh… right, Ryuzaki.

Light let out a shaky breath. For a blissful minute, he'd forgotten all about his new housemate, but then the memory had come flooding back. The med-genius must have been about to get in the shower without knowing that light always took his showers in the morning.

Light hesitated for a minute and then peeked through the crack in the door. Should he let Ryuzaki shower first or ask him to wait until Light was done?

Without intending to he began to study Ryuzaki's body. He shouldn't be looking, but… there was some insatiable curiosity pulling him. And his new housemate was so…FRAIL. Ryuzaki's back was turned towards Light, but the teen star could still see outlines of ribs in his sides and back. His shoulder blades and vertebrae poked at his pale skin as though they would tear through at any minute. Light swallowed a lump in his throat. He felt something kind of like what he had felt when he found out Ryuzaki had no other friends. It was some kind of hollow ache in the pit of his stomach. He reassured himself again that it was just pity, but that felt like a transparent excuse.

Pity was something Light felt a lot, but it was a relatively haughty emotion. He pitied anyone who didn't have things as easy as he did, and he looked down on them. In fact, his feeling towards most 'mere mortals' was pity. This thing towards Ryuzaki… it didn't feel like that.

Ryuzaki turned around. Light darted away from the door, blushing, but not before he'd caught a glimpse of evidence that Ryuzaki wasn't frail ALL over. Damn! He took a deep breath, commanding this blush to leave his cheeks, and regained his composed face. First staring at another guy naked, and now blushing. The list of un-Light behavior was steadily growing out of control.

Suddenly he heard a buzzing noise. What in the hell was-

"Hello?" Ryuzaki's monotonous voice asked.

Light's heart skipped a beat. Had he been caught peeping? Oh, no. What was he going to-?

"Yes, N, it is I."

The teen star's brows knitted together. Wait, -Ohhhhh. The buzzing had been Ryuzaki's phone, and he'd answered it. All embarrassment immediately abandoned Light. He now had a reason to be here. There was a possibility he could gain some kind of info from this. Eavesdropping WAS a bit beneath a classy guy like himself, but he supposed it could be forgiven just this once.

"It really isn't your concern," the scrawny genius was muttering. "I told you before, this has nothing to do with L the doctor. This is personal."

Ryuzaki paused for a long moment, (listening, Light presumed) and then spoke again.

"Yes, yes, I know. But nevertheless, you shouldn't call asking after me if I've only been away for one night." He paused again. "… … … You won't give up until I tell you, will you? … Fine, I am at the residence of Light Yagami. He… invited me to live with him."

More pausing. Light wished he could hear the person on the other end of the line. Half a conversation wasn't the most informative thing.

"No, and I wish you wouldn't phrase it like that. I'm as surprised as you are." 'L' let out a long sigh. "And he figured that out relatively quickly. It isn't that hard to guess that I'm not a doctor."

Light raised his eyebrows. Whoever Ryuzaki was talking to must have also known his double identity. But he thought nobody else knew about the mysterious L's identity…? Who was this person L was conversing with?

"Yes," Ryuzaki murmured. "I shall continue doing it. Just because I'm not at the hospital doesn't mean L can't still solve cases. I do most of my work over the phone anyways." Another long pause. "Yes, and that's why you're not ready yet. I said most, not all."

Light raised an eyebrow. Somebody wasn't ready for something yet…? Who and what?

"It's not going to happen, I already told you. And even if I DID become incapable, L would continue. Or have you forgotten?"

Light was getting more and more confused by the second, but wheels were beginning to turn in his head. He just couldn't place exactly what direction they were turning in.

Light was caught off guard by Ryuzaki's next statement. His voice was almost… emotional. It was like someone else was speaking.

"You know this isn't about you. I promise… I promise, N, that you will see me while you still have time. But… I have no desire to remain at the hospital until then." He heard rustling and assumed that Ryuzaki was wrapping a towel around his waist. "Yes, I assure you, I haven't forgotten about your 'list' idea. Personally, I have no idea. … … … … … N, don't say that. I need you to persevere for me. I WILL see you before that day. Just continue what you're working on. I shall talk to you later." Light heard the faint snapping shut of a flip-phone and pulled his ear away from the door. He couldn't quite make sense of his thoughts, but he was able to organize a few into clear points:

-There was someone named N who L knew.

-N knew that Ryuzaki was actually L, and how L worked over the phone.

-N now knew that Ryuzaki lived with Light.

-N was either affiliated with the hospital or lived there, because he knew when L wasn't at the hospital and Ryuzaki had mentioned that he didn't want to remain at the hospital just to see N.-

-N had some sort of time limit, and he wanted to see L before that time ran out.

The rest didn't make any sense, but those little tidbits were interesting. Sure, they only raised more questions, but now Light had something to go by. There was someone out there who knew more of Ryuzaki's secrets, and Light now had something to call him. If he could track down N, maybe he could unravel this pale ball of mysteries.

"Have you been waiting for the shower, Yagami-kun?" a voice very close to his ear asked. He spun to see deeply shadowed eyes-only inches from his own.

He shot back, bumping into the wall in the condo's narrow hallway. "Shi! Ryuzaki!"

Ryuzaki blinked at him. He was only wearing a towel, and Light had been mistaken- he wasn't about to get in the shower, he was getting out. Beads of water dripped from his uneven hair into his dark eyes and ran in rivulets down his too-thin torso. His hipbones protruded just above the line of the towel, and a tiny line of hair ran from his bellybutton to disappear down into the space beneath it.

"Um, yeah!" Light hastily declared, zipping past his new housemate. "Don't worry about it, I got to get to the studio. Can you fend for yourself until dinner?"

"Huh?" Ryuzaki tilted his head, looking at Light's retreating back. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, for food. There's some microwave stuff in the freezer or you can order pizza if you want. The number's on the fridge. I'm going to change clothes and get to work." Light sped into his room so fast; he didn't hear Ryuzaki's next statement.

"Yagami-kun? How do you use a microwave...?

* * *

So there we have it! The fabled Chapter Ten! Ten is the most chapters I've EVER posted on a fic on ; so consider yourselves lucky my beloved readers!! In personal news, I've been at the art school for about two or three weeks now and I LOVE it. My roommates and suitemates are all awesome seniors, the classes actually challenge me and … hell, it's fun XD Anyways, learning to live with other people has given me lots of experience to use for Light and L, … but thankfully the whole walking-in-on-a-roommate-naked thing is NOT based on experience XD

At the same time, I'm sad. Remember that author, nikkiacatmeki, I mentioned? She's moving to Egypt, in a matter of only days. I'm excited for her, but…  I'm also sad. If anyone wants to pop by her profile and wish her a safe trip it'd make us both slightly happier. From now on she has to help me with little things from afar… and she's half the driving force behind this fic! : Anyways, I've decided that I'm being L for Halloween. Not very original, I know, but a whole group of people at my school wants to do Death note costumes and we need an L and I somehow got nicknamed L for chewing on my thumb. So far we have a Rem, a Ryuk, and me. I'm going to help make the Rem costume too! …. I make these notes way too long… I love ya, my readers! Keep on keepin' on!


	11. Chapter 11

The Little Things Give You Away

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Hello again all my darlings! I am once again updating- aren't you proud of me? If things go on like this it'll become …Wait for it, ROUTINE! Me, with an actual routine. Can you believe that? Anyways, here I would normally rant about my current user stats or whatever, but I'm just too lazy. I have more to rant about, but I won't keep you waiting to do it. Here's chapter eleven, hope you're lovin' it!

His embarrassing morning already had Light feeling cruddy, but his day went even more downhill when he arrived at the studio. The first thing that happened was that he was assaulted by the MM idiot squad- that was to say, Misa and Matsuda. Matsuda trotted up to Light so eagerly that the teen star swore he was going to ask for walkies and to play Frisbee in the park.

"Oh! Light! I'm so glad to see you! I was just about to call our house and tell you the good news!"

"Good news?"

Matsuda bounced a little bit. For god's sake, he was in his late twenties. He shouldn't be BOUNCING. "Well, they wouldn't delay it, and they definitely wouldn't call it off, so Mello is auditioning TODAY."

"That's good news?" spat Light. "That's not good at all!"

"No, no, that's not the good part! The good part is that Mogi and I managed to convince them to let you and Misa attend. They want your opinion on the potential co-stars. So you do get some say in whether or not Mello can be on the show!"

Light sighed. He had to admit, for Matsuda, that was a big accomplishment. And it was better than letting the decision be made without him. To be honest, he had forgotten all about his Mello situation last night. He'd been far too busy with crazy doctors invading his space. But now that his mind was back on it, his anger started surging up again. What on earth did some musician want with his place, trying to steal the show from him? Oh, sure, he'd kind of challenged Mello at the hospital, and Mello did seem like the cocky type who took any challenge and let it get way out of hand, but STILL! The blonde's jealousy and ego were making Light's life inconvenient. And heaven forbid a star's life be anything LESS than easy.

Speaking of blondes, the other half of the MM idiot squad came running up to throw her arms around Light in excitement.

"Oh! Light! We get to watch baby newbie actors, isn't that ADORABLE? I bet they've all been in indie films! I bet they've never even done a pilot!"

Light groaned. "Misa, don't tell me it'll be like last time." Misa had spent the last audition she had attended cooing at and patronizing all the neophyte actors. She held a snobby attitude when it came to inexperienced performers. She could be downright condescending to anyone who hadn't at least done a commercial, and the worst part was that Light sometimes found it rubbing off on him. Recently, when a fan had sent him a tape of himself re-enacting a scene from Heaven Sent, Light compiled an edited version detailing everything the boy had done wrong. He'd almost sent it too, until Matsuda reminded him that if his fans found out he was so cruel his publicity would spiral into the wrong direction. It was Misa's fault, though. She was the snob.

"Aww, I'll be nice." Misa snuggled against Light's chest. "I promise. Hey, were you busy last night, Light? I tried to call your cell but no-one answered…"

He hadn't even paid any attention to his phone last night. "I had to meet with a doctor for a follow-up consultation," he hurriedly mumbled. Technically, it was true. If you squinted your eyes and tilted your head, you couldn't even see the holes in the truth.

"Aww, my poor baby! Are you all healthy now? No more passing out?"

"Hopefully," Light muttered. He might pass out, however, if Ryuzaki did something so stupid that he was knocked unconscious just by seeing it. Which was, sadly, pretty likely right now.

Before Light could even clear the thought from his head, his phone rang. With a groan the teen star flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Yagami-kun."

"This is he." Light pried Misa off of him and attempted to move out of the room.

"Who is that?" Misa whispered, although her whisper was any ordinary person's talking voice. It was ridiculous how little discretion that girl had.

"My cousin from out of town. He's staying at my house for a few days," Light covered the mouthpiece and mumbled. "Now shush." He turned back to his phone. "What do you want?"

"Light-kun, I'm hungry."

"Congratulations. Eat something."

"I can't."

"Why?" he growled. "My food not good enough for you?"

"I don't know how to cook," the monotonous tones on the other end of the speaker announced.

"… What?"

"You heard me," Ryuzaki confirmed. "I live in a hospital. We have our own cafeteria, which is constantly stocked for doctors, nurses and visitors. If the cafeteria is closed, I simply eat snacks from the vending machines."

Light was incredulous for a second. "Surely you can use a MICROWAVE! I mean- come ON!"

Misa raised her eyebrow. "Light's cousin can't use a microwave?"

Shit, she was still standing there? Light covered the mouthpiece again.

"He's kind of… eccentric. Raised in the country, you know. He's brilliant, but a little out there. One of those… idiot savants."

"Ohhhhh! Misa knew an… idiom spavined once. He couldn't tie his shoes, but he swindled Misa at six games of poker in a row!"

Temporarily ignoring that statement of pure idiocy, Light returned to his conversation with Ryuzaki. "Okay, okay, well, can you order something from the pizza place? I got to go. I have an audition to go to. See you later." Before Ryuzaki could protest, Light hung up on him with a click.

He and Misa made their way to the auditorium where auditions were being held and sat down. He was just in time; the first actor was about to take the stage.

Although Mello was the focus of the auditions, several other wannabe actors were trying out today. Not only did this give the people watching it a standard to compare Mello's performance to, it also gave them a backup plan if the singing sensation turned out to be horrible. (Which Light sincerely hoped he did.)

He looked at he portfolios of a few of the wannabes. A few had some status; they'd taken small walk-on roles in various TV shows or done some commercials, a few had even done tiny parts in movies. All the rest were complete neophytes; they had a handful of stage shows and indie films between them and none of them had ever worked in the limelight like Light had, Things weren't looking too good.

They were even worse on the stage. How any of these guys had made it this far, Light didn't know. The first actor was horrendously over-the-top, and Light could tell he was much more suited to musical theater. Anyone overacting that badly needed a musical number and backup dancers not to look like a fool.

The second looked promising until he opened his mouth and a squeaky little-girl voice came out. Light tried to take the rest of his performance seriously; he really did. But COME ON! Who was going to cower from a villain who sounded like a prepubescent Hannah Montana fan?

Before the third actor even came onstage the sound of "Love Me Dead" by Ludo filled the auditorium. Shimatta. It was Light's phone. He held up a finger indicating for everyone to wait and slipped out into the hallway.

"Hello?" he hissed.

"Light-kun. Where do you keep your money?"

"…. WHAT?"

Ryuzaki's voice, on the other end of the phone, sounded perfectly calm for asking such a bizarre question. 'I asked Light-kun where he keeps his money. I called the pizza place and they told me it would be 24.95 for my pizza. I have no money."

Light groaned. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I tried to, but Light-kun hung up on me."

Shimatta. He had, hadn't he? "Okay, well, call and cancel your order. I don't have 24.95 lying around anywhere except in my wallet, which I have with me. What kind of pizza did you order? That's awfully expensive…"

"It was a custom dessert pizza with Oreo, M&M's, whipped cream and chocolate sauce."

"……….. What is wrong with you?"

"I have no idea what Light-kun means. If I must cancel my order, what shall I do for food?"

Light growled and rubbed his temples. Today was enough of a headache as it was; now this. "I don't know. I might have some cereal or something in the cabinet. Figure it out, I have to go back and listen to this guy's audition."

"Understood. Oh? Light-kun, someone is knocking on the door. That must be my pizza. I shall let you go."

There was a click on the other end of the line and Light closed his phone. Okay, that better be the last time he heard from the idiot savant before he got home this evening. He stormed back into the auditorium and sat down, where an irritated actor was standing impatiently on the stage.

Light motioned that it was okay for him to begin and he did. Hmm… perhaps this one had some kind of promise. His body language was good, and his voice was strong…

And then he completely forgot his lines. The man stood there, dumbfounded for a minute, before grinning sheepishly and ad-libbing. With a song. Obviously, it was yet ANOTHER musical theatre major attempting to break into TV. If Heaven Sent ever did a musical number, maybe they'd call him back, but that was probably never going to happen EVER.

Several more actors came out, but their performances were so lackluster and unmemorable Light couldn't even be bothered having opinions on them. Just before the last audition of the day, a familiar ring tone filled the auditorium once more. Light sighed, indicated to pause for one more moment, and stormed out into the hallway ready to chew whoever was calling a new hole. "WHAT?"

"Ah, Light-kun?" Of course it would be Ryuzaki. Of course.

"What?"

"I just wanted to tell you I got something to eat."

He had to call to say that? Light really didn't care. Was it worth interrupting auditions for that? "That's nice, now I need to go."

"Okay… um, Light-kun-"

"I can't talk, Ryuzaki. I'm doing something very important at work and I can't get interrupted ANY MORE."

"Okay, Light-kun…"

"Seeya." Light hung up and once again returned to the auditorium. "Sorry, business." He whispered to one of the other members of the panel. She just nodded at him and looked back at the stage.

Mello was standing there, grinning wickedly. His blonde hair shone under the stage lights and his aqua eyes glittered. "Hello, everyone." He smiled charmingly at the panel watching him. "I'm Mello."

He was so… cocky. The way he introduced himself with only one name, that stupid crooked little smile on his face, that stupid pride evident all over his body language. Just looking at him made Light sick. And hearing him speak- it was even worse.

Mello cleared his throat and began reciting the lines from the script. "Hello, Kira. Pleasure to meet you. Though I don't suppose I could say it's a pleasure for you." His voice was strong, commanding, with just an edge of a laugh to it. Light could almost see him clad in black wings and holding a sword, glaring imperiously down his nose. But he pushed that thought back, because there was no way Mello would make it onto the show to wear that costume. "I suppose a preliminary introduction might be in order. What can you call me? Let's see. Your worst Nightmare is a little too cliché, and I wouldn't say you could call me sweetheart." Now he leaned in, his eyes locked straight on Light, and his voice dropped to a low and dangerous tone. "Although I suppose that pretty little girl of yours could. But I digress. I suppose, oh just and fair Kira, you can simply address me as this: Mihael."

There was silence on the panel for a moment, and then… applause. They were clapping. Actually clapping for that stupid wannabe! Mello swept his arm across his chest and bowed, grinning like a madman.

Misa stood up, still clapping, and cheered. "Bravo! 10 out of 10! He gets my vote!"

"Misa, this isn't American Idol," hissed Light. Misa looked at him and pouted.

"Oh, really?" the singer on the stage asked, laughing. "Because I would swear that right now you are doing your very best Simon Cowell."

Light rolled his eyes. "Very funny. A singer like you might've impressed Simon Cowell, but I'm not quite sold. You have no acting experience- no credentials, no recommendations. It says here you did some acting in high school and college, but…"

The producer turned to him. "I appreciate your concern, Light, but let me launch a few names at you. Drake Bell. Miley Cyrus. Why, even Jared Leto. What do all those names have in common to you?"

Light sighed. "They're all actors AND musicians. But if I may argue sir- Drake Bell and Miley Cyrus are specifically targeted to the twelve to thirteen age group, and Jared Leto was an actor BEFORE he became a musician."

"Well, Light, I think someone like Mello has the potential to change the image of all actor-slash musicians as being teeny boppers or bad actors. You saw his performance. And besides, his pre-existing fame will be wonderful publicity for the show. Just give him a chance, Light. If, after a few weeks worth of takes, his performance isn't great, then we'll find another actor."

Light sighed and looked down at his hands. Ultimately, the director and the producer had all the power when it came to the show. If they so desired they could have HIM, Light Yagami, they STAR, replaced. "Yes sir," he mumbled.

Mello was smirking up onstage. "So, I suppose I should leave now," he purred.

"Ah-yes. We'll call you in the morning once our final decision is made. But I should go ahead and tell you; your chances are very excellent. If nothing else comes up, you should be prepared to do some preliminary takes."

"Thank you very much," Mello announced, and then he exited stage right.

The whole trip home Light was seething. Today had to be one of the worst days in history. There was nothing, absolutely NOTHING that could make this day any worse.

And then his phone rang.

"Hello?" he sighed, too tired to even yell.

"Mr. Yagami, this is Yuri from Calendar Cleaning services… Um, I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but your maid would like to reassign. We'll need to assign you a new maid."

"Wait, what? Jessica wants to reassign? I don't understand, she's been my maid for two years…"

Yuri cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, sir, it's just that… She reports there was a bit of trouble in your condominium today. She says a strange man followed her around, quote 'Diagnosing me with obscure diseases and telling me which kinds of bacteria flourished in each part of the house'. She also reports he blew up some jam donuts and oatmeal in the microwave. She says he informed her he would be staying there and she regretfully decided that she could not clean in a house in which he was staying."

Light groaned. Somebody please shoot him now. If this day got any worse he'd have sworn he was in Hell already.

Instead of my usual ramble here, I'm going to tell you all a little story.

Back when I was writing the first rough drafts for Little Things 4 or so months ago, I was in a Creative Writing class at my high school. Now in the class there was an unspoken sort of hierarchy- there were the people who had never written before and needed to learn a lot, the people who wrote occasionally and displayed talent but hadn't perfected it yet, and the people who wrote so often that anything they produced must have been good whether or not they actually put any effort into it. I was one of the latter and therefore worshipped as one of the heads of the class even though personally I didn't think I was that good. But who WAS good was this guy O'Brien. Now, I have never in my life met someone who more embodies Light Yagami than this guy. It got to the point where I was referring to him as Light to my sister in casual conversation. He was a physics genius, he was extraordinarily self-assured, and he chose Milton's Paradise Lost as his piece of poetry to recite. Can I say anymore? And whether or not this is true, I heard a rumor that he was dating like 4 freshman girls at once. XD That's as Light as you can get. Anyway, to get to the point. Whether or not he knew it, "Light" was my secret rival. Everything I wrote was to try and best him; the times we had to team up I was deliberately showing off to try to have my half of the work shine better, and if it hadn't been for that competition I would have probably gone on half-assing everything because I knew I didn't have to try to make the whole class think it was pure gold. The moral of the story is this: The reason Mello is such a good actor is because he's trying to beat Light, so he's trying extra hard. Also, I just wanted everyone to hear about my source of inspiration for the vicious rivalry between Mello and Light. (Although when I think about it, O'Brien never seemed to realize there was any kind of rivalry. He was always complimenting me and seemed not to mind working with me. Maybe the competition was one-sided…)

Well, now that I've wasted your time, I just wanted to say thanks for reading and keep on! Love y'all!


	12. BONUS

Hey, dearest fans. I was going to submit chapter twelve a few days ago, but these retarded Macs at my school deleted my file, so I have to retype the whole thing. That's why there's been a massive delay in update, not to metion monday was my boyfriend's birthday and our one-year anniversary (squee!) So to tide you over for now, I'll give you a little something special... L and N's FULL phone conversation. Enjoy!

**BONUS**

L and N's phone conversation.

* * *

**Phone rings**

L: Hello?

N: I'll presume this isn't a mugger who has stolen your phone and is, in fact, L.

L: Yes, N, it is I.

N: Where have you been, L? This case doesn't require you to leave the hospital. Everything you need is here. Where are you?

L: It really isn't your concern. I told you before, this has nothing to do with L the doctor. This is personal.

N: It is imperative for you to be here. This case won't solve itself. And for all I know you being gone could mean you are dead in a gutter somewhere.

L: Yes, yes, I know. But nevertheless, you shouldn't be calling after me if I've only been away for one night.

N: Away where?

L: You won't give up until I tell you, will you?

N: No, I will not.

L: Fine. I am at the residence of Light Yagami. He… invited me to live with him.

N: Wha- he did? I suppose this all fits nicely into your plan. You probably knew all along he would do that. I suppose he also thinks you're really a doctor?

L: No, and I wish you wouldn't phrase it like that. I'm as surprised as you are. (Sigh) And he figured that out relatively quickly. It isn't that hard to guess I'm not a doctor.

N: Oh, so your secret is out. I don't suppose you'll continue doing any work now that you're living with the rich and famous Light Yagami?

L: Yes, I shall continue doing it. Just because I'm not at the hospital doesn't mean L can't still solve cases. I do most of my work over the phone anyways.

N: I don't see why you even have to communicate over the phone. I have never corresponded with any hospital staff save you and Watari.

L: Yes, and that is why you are not ready. I said most, not all.

N: I still don't understand why you say I'm not ready. It's unnecessary. (Sigh) Whatever. If I'm not ready, then you need to come back, L. Something unfortunate could happen to you out there. You could die.

L: It's not going to happen, I already told you. And even if I DID become incapable, L would continue. Or have you forgotten?

N: No, I haven't, but you have said I'm not ready! What will I do, L? You say I'm not ready, but I don't have time to BECOME ready! Four months… that is all I have. I'll just sit here and guess at diagnoses until I have no more time left and it's too late. What am I going to do without you here? If you don't come back, I'll never see you again….

L: You know this isn't about you. I promise… I promise, N, that you will see me while you still have time. But… I have no desire to remain at the hospital until then.

N: What about me? I have no desire to rot here, either. But unlike you I can't leave. (Sigh) Let's not discuss this. It depresses me. Have you thought about my idea? Do you have any items to add to it?

L: Yes, I assure you, I haven't forgotten about your list idea. Personally, I have no idea…

N: Forget it, who needs a list? Perhaps I shouldn't worry about it. (Bitter laugh) It isn't as if there is anything beyond death… We just have this time, and that is it… four months, and then blackness….

L: N, don't say that. I need you to persevere for me. I WILL see you before that day. Just continue what you are working on. I shall talk to you later.

N: Very well… Goodbye, L.

**Click**


	13. Chapter 13

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Argh, so here's the deal. This is the third time I've started writing this mo-fo'ing chapter, and I'm getting downright sick of it XD The Macs here utterly hate me, I'm not sure why, so I'm crossing my fingers and praying this doesn't mess up again. If it does… it'll probably be six months before you guys get an update XD

Hopefully, though, that's not the case. Oh, and this chapter, I feel the need to post a

WARNING!!

Here it is: In this chapter, there will be some sexual tension. Between two guys. And in case anyone hasn't figured it out, this story WILL contain shonen-ai and/or Yaoi, so don't keep on reading if a love story about two men gives you the heebie-jeebies. Okay, we got that covered? Good. I know it's a bit late to be posting warnings, buuuuuut… I forgot about it when I began this fic XD Anyways, here's my chapter, without further ado. Thanks for the patience, guys!!

* * *

Light was NOT happy.

Nobody in his or her right mind WOULD be happy after the day he'd had. Not only had he had to endure a long and tedious day, he'd watched some bratty pop star try to steal his place, he'd been harassed via phone by his psycho new roommate, and now said roommate had freaked the hell out of his most faithful maid and scared her into quitting. Oh, and he'd blown up donuts and oatmeal in the microwave. All in all, it had put the privileged youth into a mood that was, at best, murderous, and at worst… well, Ryuzaki best keep clear of him.

He THUNDERED into the condo, KICKED his shoes off and halfway across the room, SLAMMED down his stuff and practically DOVE into the couch. Lying across it with utmost contempt, he SMASHED the 'on' button on the remote and proceeded to flip through channels. After using up all his energy entering the house so dramatically, TV would be nice and numbing to his brain.

There was a small sound at the doorframe and he looked to see Ryuzaki standing awkwardly in the hallway, looking slightly afraid of his new housemate.

"Ah. Yagami-kun…"

"Nnh," Light grunted at him with as much contempt as he could muster. He didn't feel like watching House… or NCIS… oh dear god, there was an interview with Mello on MTV. He hurriedly flipped past that and settled on some ridiculous reality show on vh1. God help him if he ever became washed up and desperate enough to appear in one of those.

"How was your day?" Ryuzaki murmured, creeping cautiously into the room and sitting awkwardly on the floor close to Light's feet.

"Don't you dare ask that," Light hissed. "Especially when you're one if the ones making it so horrid."

Ryuzaki chewed on his thumb. "Oh. I, uh… I'm…" He briefly closed his eyes and then muttered, monotonously, "I'm sorry."

Light was slightly taken aback by the apology (for some reason, he'd taken the doctor-for-pretend to be the type never to apologize for anything) but begrudgingly accepted it. He might as well… after all; it was his fault more than anyone for letting the strangest of strangers take up residence with him. So he might as well try to stifle SOME of his anger towards the weirdo.

He nodded his 'apology accepted' before turning up the volume on the TV, thereby declaring that the conversation was over. He leaned back and let his attention and mind wander to the stupid reality show in front of him, until…

Something touched his bare foot. Light nearly jumped out of his skin until he looked down and saw Ryuzaki's long fingers grasping it.

"I thought I could give Light-kun a foot massage… you know, to make amends for my sins."

Light raised his eyebrow and looked down at the strange genius, but finally sighed and leaned back into the couch. "Fine. Do whatever you want." It kind of touched him that at least Ryuzaki felt bad enough to try to make it up to him… not that he'd let Ryuzaki know that. He tried to concentrate on the TV again, but… that was oddly distracting. Ryuzaki's strong fingers started at his ankle and then gently massaged his heel before smoothing over the arch in his foot. It kind of tickled. He bit down on his lip to keep from giggling and snatching his foot away.

Ryuzaki then rubbed the bottom of his foot close to his toes- Light couldn't remember what it was called, was it the ball of his foot? At any rate, it was actually rather pleasing, and Light let out a small sigh of contentment without realizing it. It was strange to have someone he barely knew touching his feet, but… it was almost like the massage he'd gotten from that Korean lady the time Misa had taken him out for a pedicure. If Light thought of it like that, without letting his mind wander to how horribly personal it could be, then he was fine.

"I can give shoulder massages, too," Ryuzaki offered, almost eagerly (if it weren't for that ever-present monotone.) "Would Light like one?"

It was tempting… the celebrity superstar shrugged and rolled his neck until he heard it pop.

"Well, I have been kind of tense… but…" If a foot massage was weird, where did shoulder massages fall? Did they cross into the category of too personal? Light vaguely remembered a discussion between two characters in Pulp Fiction about just how sexual a foot massage was. Well… what the hell. This wasn't Pulp Fiction.

"I'm actually quite good at them… or so I think," Ryuzaki murmured. "I read an entire article about how to give excellent massages. Light will have to lay on his stomach, on the floor, please."

Light complied, resting his chin on his folded hands and looking straight ahead. _Just think of him as a masseuse at your favorite health spa and everything will be okay, _Light mentally scolded himself. This didn't have to be awkward unless Light made it that way. If he detached himself and didn't think too much about it there would be no problem at all.

Ryuzaki moved so that he was kneeling over Light with a leg on either side of him. Wasn't that called straddling him…? Light shook his head and forced his eyes onto the screen where a woman was undertaking some kind of reality show challenge that involved mud wrestling.

Ryuzaki pushed Light's shirt up over his shoulders and began smoothing has hands over his bare skin. "Now, relax, Light-kun, and I shall rub away your stresses."

Light let out a small 'nnh' at the skin-on-skin contact but closed his eyes and attempted to relax. Ryuzaki worked slowly over his shoulders and upper back before slowly moving down to his lower back. Ryuzaki let out a breathy sigh and leaned forward as he worked Light's shoulders. His chest touched Light's back.

"Um… Ryuzaki? Where exactly did you read this massage article?"

"Cosmopolitan." Ryuzaki announced almost cheerfully, in his monotonous way.

Light felt his face redden almost instantly. "Um… then, this is-"

Ryuzaki peered down at him, confused. "What?"

"I mean, isn't EVERYTHING in that magazine rather sexual? So isn't this massage technique… intended for a woman to use on her lover?"

Ryuzaki, tracing small circles on Light's lower back with one hand as the other traced down his side, shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't read the entire article. I simply read the section pertaining to back massage."

A shiver ran up the teen star's spine that he had to convince himself was entirely because of the cold air on his bare skin. "Gah! Can you stop that? It tickles!"

Ryuzaki ceased the current motions of his hands and moved on to rub circles on his lower spine, working out tension that had built up there. "I don't understand, Light-kun, is this embarrassing somehow?"

Light ground his teeth together, squirming to try to get out from under the creepy pretend-doctor. "Yes! This is crossing the personal bubble boundaries quite a bit!"

"But it's therapeutic," Ryuzaki murmured, tilting his head to one side and refusing to release his massage-captive. "It releases tensions built up throughout the day in the back muscles, which we usually tense in stressful situations. I would think you would most definitely need release from this tightness of muscle, Light-kun."

The way he had phrased that last sentence was HORRIBLY disturbing, and it only made Light fidget more. "Look, it's just not cool for me to be shirtless and have another guy on top of me. It's kind of… suggestive."

Ryuzaki removed one hand from Light's back to chew on his thumbnail. "If I have no sexual intentions, and am doing this as a friend, what is the problem?"

Light could have died of exasperation. "Because. Don't you have any concept of what is and isn't socially acceptable?"

"Not particularly," Ryuzaki announced again in his cheerful monotone. Light would have sworn he was getting some sick pleasure from tormenting a poor, helpless celebrity. "I was never really social as a child, and I have spent too much time in the hospital."

Light was ALMOST too flustered to file away that hint at some of Ryuzaki's story- almost. But after making a mental note of it, he sighed and resigned himself to his fate of being forced into an extraordinarily awkward massage by an extraordinarily irritating new housemate.

'Whatever, just hurry up and torture me. I need to get to sleep so I don't die of sleep deprivation."

'What about you, Light-kun? Does Light remember any childhood friends?"

"Um… some." Light squirmed a little more as L's hands worked down to the sensitive small of his back. "I really only ever had one friend before 5th grade."

"Oh?" Ryuzaki paused for a moment, and his voice actually rose out of its usual low mumble. "Does Light remember him?"

"Not really," Light muttered, "so can you let me go?"

"Why is this so awkward to Light?"

"It's kind of SEXUAL in case you hadn't noticed!" snapped the helpless teen star.

Ryuzaki rested his hands in Light's back but still didn't get up. What the hell was his problem?

"why is sexual such a bad thing? I understand Light-kun is not sexually attracted to me... nor I him, I should add to reassure you, but isn't Light comfortable to do things such as this with Misa-san?"

"No!" Light snarled. "I don't want ANYBODY hanging off of me like this."

The faux-physician was quiet once more, and then his quiet voice sounded almost smug.

"Is Light-kun a virgin?"

Light didn't know it was possible to get any redder, but he did. "Ah- what- why is that any of your-"

"It may surprise you to know that I, too, am a virgin, Light-kun."

Actually, it was only surprising that Ryuzaki thought that would be surprising. Light hadn't even considered the possibility that Ryuzaki could have ever had any kind of sexual contact with anyone. Ever. He was just so… just, no. Whoever went there must have some kind of 'weird' fetish.

Light buried his face in the floor to avoid looking at the oddball straddling him. "Yes. I'm a virgin. Okay? I'm a virgin, I've never slept with Misa, so just stay out of it and mind your own business."

"Why not?"

"What?"

"Why haven't you slept with Misa? For that matter, has Light-kun done ANYTHING, or is he entirely virginal?"

"WHY IS THAT ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS?" shrieked the flustered youth trapped under the other. "I'm not completely naïve! I'm just not a man-whore who'd go out and screw anything that moves!"

"So what would 'not completely naïve' mean? Is Light-kun discussing the use of hands? Mouths?"

He had enough. He sat up, throwing the oh-so-awkward doctor off of him and leaping to his feet.

"You are SO ANNOYING! You don't know ANYTHING about how NORMAL people live life! Were you born under a freaking bridge and raised by trolls? You're such a ridiculous freak! I can't believe how utterly backwards you are! I can't believe you don't know what is wrong with your behavior! I can't believe I'm letting you LIVE with me! What was I thinking? Look, I won't kick you out because I feel so damn bad for you, but that doesn't mean I want to talk to you or have anything to do with you! So leave me alone!"

He stormed out, leaving the stunned doctor sitting on the floor wondering what to say in response.

* * *

Kay, I don't have much to say this author's note, except… has anyone heard of L File No. 15? I just heard about it and OMG. I really, really badly want them to bring it to the US. From what I know, it's a photobook of the sexiest of all sexy, Mr. Kenichi Matsuyama himself, as L in different places, etc. I also heard it contained a mini-manga about L, which REALLLLY excites me. If anyone has any info I'd glomp them forever and ever. I love y'all! I'm so glad this chap is finally done! -- Thanks for the patience everyone. Hope this proved worth it!


	14. Chapter 14

The Little Things Give You Away

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Hey guys! I'm back again with a brand new rap, and no I don't mean rap as in a new case of child molestation accusation- ahhahhahha! … Enough Eminem, I'm here with some Little Things for y'all and I hope you love it! I didn't think about it, but I have over 200 reviews! OVER 200!! ZOMFG! I think you guys deserve a reward. So, I'm going to draw you a picture. Does anyone have a particular scene they'd like to see on paper? If you do, pop it into that little thing called a review- and if you're one of those peeps out there that's alerted but as of yet posted no review, now would be a great time to start! Please?

Anyways this chap is a little unusual as it deviates from Light's point of view for a while, so I hope the change isn't unwelcome and doesn't grate anyone's nerves. Light and all his drama will be back soon enough. For now, here's what else is going on in the world! Enjoy!

--

Mihael Keehl, better known by his stage name of Mello, wasn't a patient guy. Sitting through discussions with the producer, costume designer and casting director after auditions had been boring enough, and now THIS. He'd gotten the call as soon as he left the studio that his brother was in surgery once more and zipped straight over, barely making time to call Matt and arrange to meet at the hospital along the way. But now there was THIS… this long period of sitting around waiting pointlessly. Mello was 18, he was famous, and he was wealthy. He shouldn't have had to wait for ANYTHING, even if that thing was his own brother to be released from surgery. Yet here he was, sitting in a room specifically called the WAITING room, WAITING on the same old news he heard every time.

He knew exactly how it'd happen. He'd sit here and wait until he was nearly asleep as the sounds of Matt's Gameboy beeped mutedly in the background. Then the nurse would clear her throat and Matt would gently shake Mello awake and point wordlessly at the doorway where she stood.

The nurse would politely address him as Mister Keehl and quietly announce that his brother's surgery had been a success. She would go on to add that he was recuperating and wouldn't be taking any visitors for now. Mello would ask when he WOULD take visitors. She's murmur something about calling when he felt better, and they'd never call.

Another thing Mello wasn't was stupid. He knew that his brother was perfectly capable of muttering at least a few words to the one who had paid the expenses of his surgery in the first place, even if it was half-incomprehensible and diluted by morphine and anesthetic. It was that his little terror of a sibling didn't WANT to see him. By now Mello had given up expecting his little brother to acknowledge him. He wasn't even sure why he came to these surgeries in the first place. It wasn't like he got any sense of fulfillment sitting in the cold, sterile, pastel-colored hell they called a hospital waiting room. And it wasn't like he needed to be here. What could he possibly contribute to the little nightmare's health by just sitting here?

He pulled a dollar out of his pocket and tapped Matt on the shoulder. "Hey. Matt. Could you go get me a Hershey's from the vending machines? A regular, none of that almond or cookies and cream crap."

His band mate mumbled a 'yes' under his breath without looking up from his game console and then took the dollar, standing up and shuffling out of the room to the lobby where the snack machines resided. Mello sighed and leaned back in his chair. Everything in his life had been looking up… his new album was selling, his creativity was flowing like a river and he'd even taken up a new passion… acting. It seemed strange to think there was anything other than music in Mello's blood, but the second he'd heard that unspoken challenge in Light Yagami's eyes… he knew he had to try it. And he hadn't just TRIED it; he'd EXCELLED at it. Sure, he had acting experience in high school and even some in school beyond that, but he'd never imagined he'd make it to TV. TV! He could soon be more than just a Rolling Stone article; he could be a household name, someone so well known that his brother would HAVE to acknowledge him. And if he happened to become more famous than Light Yagami along the way… well, that was just a bonus.

Matt had barely made it back from the lobby when the nurse appeared in the doorway, smiling pleasantly at Mello. Despite the frumpy, navy-blue scrubs she wore, she was quite attractive, and Mello glanced down at her nametag, taking a mental note that her name was Halle Lidner.

"Mister Keehl, sir?" she asked politely, glancing down at her clipboard. "Your brother's surgery was a success."

He hadn't realized he'd been holding a breath, but he let it out regardless. Not that he expected anything to go wrong (and when the little brat acted so high and mighty, he really shouldn't have worried about him at all,) but in this world… you never knew. Even if he wasn't particularly concerned, the "what if" always nagged at the back of his mind.

He stood up to leave when the pretty nurse cleared her throat again. "Mister Keehl," she repeated, "would you like to see him?"

He paused, clutching his chocolate bar. "Pardon?" He must have misheard something.

"I asked if you'd like to see him. The anesthetic has worn off and he's quite lucid, so he can take visitors."

"Uh…" She must have been new here, so she didn't know the little brat like everyone else, or she wouldn't have asked. Even if Mello came in and sat beside his bed, he'd just pretend to be asleep or refuse to talk to him. "I doubt he'd want me to come in and disturb his recovery, so…"

She was a persistent one, though, coughing politely again. (That was beginning to get VERY old.) "I think he'd like to see you."

"Trust me, he won't," the blond murmured, feeling his temper surge up in his chest. She was either very stupid or very stubborn- or worse, both.

She sighed and tapped her French tips on her clipboard. (Just what kind of nurse got her nails done like that? God knows what kind of things would get trapped under the acrylic crescents.) "What I'm trying to say, Mister Keehl, is that he's asked if you would come in. But he was a little wary that you wouldn't come see him, so…"

Mello's jaw nearly hit the floor. The brat ACTUALLY wanted to see him? Had he died and gone to some parallel dimension?

"Uh… 'Kay then…" he muttered, clutching the still-wrapped chocolate in one hand. "Matt, come on, let's pop in and see him."

Halle sighed. "Only family can visit at this time. Your friend will have to wait out here."

Mello nearly said then and there to screw it, that if Matt couldn't come, the brat could go to hell, but he swallowed his anger and nodded, motioning to Matt to wait for him.

"So," he asked as he followed the nurse down the long hallway, her shoes clicking on the tile floor, "which room is Nate's?"

"Room 213," Nurse Lidner said formally, not even turning to look at him, "and he prefers to be addressed as Near."

--

GASP! They're related!! Muahahaha, and I leave you with a cliffhanger, AGAIN! I am absolutely the WORST!! Well, I was going to write more this chap, but it had taken so long to get typed and stuff that I decided to go ahead and split it into two chapters, so next time you'll get Hospital Drama with the Keehl Family: Part Two. For now, I hope you enjoyed this little tidbit, and I'm sorry it wasn't much. I've had presentations and all kids of crap due at school, it being the end of the nine weeks, so I've had little free time. But hopefully soon you'll get another dose, and without too much delay!

In other news, I'm so fed up with AS right now it's not funny. I've been trying to follow Code Geass (it's amazing! Like Deathnote and Gundam Seed's secret lovechild XD) and then those stupid a-holes decide to move it. To four in the freaking morning. WHAT THE, As? Now I have to miss it during my stay-at-school weekends because our lights-out time is one A.M. (which was okay when Geass was still on at a reasonable hour) and I have to set an alarm just so I can wake up on time to see it when I'm at home. I swear, if they weren't my only reliable source of anime right now, I'd shoot AS in the head. Anyways…. Sorry for the rant, guys, love you all, and don't forget to review!!


	15. Chapter 15

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Lately I have no patience for author's notes, I'm not sure why XD I usually ramble a lot here, but instead I'll leave you with a simple message: enjoy my chapter! Thanks guys!

--

* * *

Mello's heart thudded in his chest as he approached Nate- no, NEAR's room. The nurse opened the door and swept her arm out in an 'after you' gesture. He walked in, still clutching his chocolate bar.

Nate had always seemed too small, too frail for a boy his age, but now he seemed dwarfed by the whiteness of his hospital bed. It engulfed him, so that he seemed like a small pale ghost buried in the overwhelming folds of his blankets and pillows. His hair and skin were barely a shade darker than his bleached-white hospital pajamas, and his gray eyes seemed huge in his tiny face. He looked less like a thirteen-year-old boy, and more like the ghost of a much younger child.

"Hello… brother," he muttered quietly, twirling one pale curl around his finger. "How have you been?"

Mello's voice caught in his throat for a second before he hurriedly cleared it and replied. "…Decent. How about you?"

Near picked up a small object that had been on his lap. It was a toy soldier. Seeing it made Mello more aware of the décor of their surroundings. The entire hospital room was covered in… toys. Huge quantities of them- toy soldiers, robots, cars and model trains… The masses of playthings only succeeded in enhancing the image of him as a much younger child. Mello wondered where all the toys had come from. For that matter, what did Nate- that was, Near- think of them? Did he actually play with all of these?

"Decent," replied Near, his voice snapping Mello out of his thoughts.

A long silence blossomed between them and Lidner cleared her throat and spoke, breaking it.

"I'll go get you something to drink, Near. I'll be back shortly."

Near nodded at her and marched the army man slowly back and forth across his lap. "It's been a while since we've spoken, hasn't it, brother?" he asked quietly.

"Nearly a year," Mello murmured. "Ever since my album was released."

Near continued the soldier's endless march. Back and forth, back and forth. "Yes. A lot has changed since then, I suppose."

"A whole lot," Mello murmured, picking at a corner of his chocolate bar's wrapper. "I've been all over the magazines and stuff since then. I'm surprised you haven't seen any of it." The last sentence may have come out a bit bitter, but Mello felt justified. After all, it was thanks to his fame that Near was even treated at this hospital. Those no-good foster parents had no way to afford his treatment, and Mello was sure the only reason they wanted to keep the younger boy alive was so they could show him off. "Look at our 'son', the genius, the prodigy." They wanted to push him forwards and win all kinds of acclaim and praise through him, but they'd had no interest in adopting the older brother, the troubled one, the one that could never get them anywhere. Well, he'd proven them wrong. He'd ended up on every goddamn magazine cover this side of the country and he hoped they knew it.

Mello tore open the wrapper on his chocolate bar and sat down in the chair near Nate's bed, chewing idly on one corner of the sweet. "It's not like I expected you to know, anyways. If it weren't for me keeping contact, those people would've let you think you had no brother."

Near said nothing, simply twirled his hair.

Things had been like this for a long time, since before Nate had become Near and Mihael had become Mello. Maybe it had started when Mom died and Mihael and his brother had gone to that first orphanage. From that point onwards they had started taking two diverging paths. Mello grew more and more extroverted, putting on a loud and boisterous front to cover his insecurities, while his younger brother grew more and more introverted as he took shelter in his own mind. So when the parents started coming, wanting to find a special little child to take home with them, it was Mihael who caught their attention first, but it was Nate they lingered on. He was special, they said, he was a brilliant prodigy hiding inside himself. Nate was the one they wanted to baby and take care of. Nate was the one who they wanted to crack open like some kind of safe to reach the treasure inside. As time went one, Mihael got angrier and angrier, and it started to show. Soon they were calling him 'unadoptable.' Soon they were saying no one would want him. It was no surprise when Nate had finally gotten adopted- and Mihael hadn't. He bounced around for a while, between homes, and then finally he'd made his first band and started touring. The rest was history. The rift between the two was a deep one, but Mello had tried to bridge it ever since Near was first hospitalized. The only problem was, he was making the effort alone.

"I do know, though," Near finally murmured, twirling the toy soldier around so that it faced Mello. "About your career. I did a little research. My… parents helped."

Mello chewed on his chocolate a little more. "Oh. Well, um…" He swallowed the morsel in his mouth and sat the candy bar down. "What… made you decide to… suddenly take interest?" Mello's voice sounded more like good chocolate now… Slightly less bitter, and slightly more sweet. He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt and didn't look up at his brother.

Near sat down his toy soldier and took another long moment to consider. "Things change. Sometimes, one reaches a point where things suddenly fall into perspective and one realizes what's important, what one needs to do."

He sounded so much older than a 13-year old, and the gap between the hollowness in his voice and the childishness of his face was too vast to make any sense. Mello tried to remember what his voice had sounded like when they'd last spoken. That was, he finally realized, almost two years ago.

"Yeah? Did this point happen because of you becoming a teenager, or what?" he joked, trying to sound lighthearted.

Near twirled a piece of hair. "Maybe," he finally muttered. "I just thought… it was important for me to get back in touch with you. I've started to realize what… life is like."

"And what's it like?"

"Short."

"Oh." Mello looked awkwardly down at his boots. He never thought it would be this hard to talk to Nate- that was, Near- in all that time he'd hoped for his acknowledgement. They were brothers- they were supposed to be more alike.

"So, um… Did you hear I was going to start acting soon?" Mello asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Acting?"

"Yeah. On TV. Actually, it's all because I was here! Did I tell you how I was invited to play at this hospital's benefit ball since, you know, you were here and stuff?"

Near actually turned his head to look at Mello, seeming like he was actually vaguely interested in this new set of events. "You told the nurse about it. She told me."

"Yeah, well… Since I got to play at that ball, I got to mingle with a lot of TV guys, since Light Yagami was at the ball and so was his manager…"

Near seemed more than just vaguely interested now; he actually looked straight at Mello with something like an expression of actual curiosity. "Light Yagami? You got to meet him?"

Mello's nose wrinkled up in disdain and he picked his chocolate back up. "Yeah. Don't tell me you're one of his fan boys. He's really kind of a snob."

"Actually," Near murmured, "it's because of him that someone very important to me isn't with me right now."

Someone very important to Nate… there was someone like that? Did he have friends at school, and did they ever come visit him anymore, now that he'd been in the hospital so long? Was this 'someone important' who'd given him these toys?

"Is that so? Well, then it'll please you to know…" Mello smirked a little bit. "…That I'm going to become more famous than him. I'm going to outshine him."

Near twirled a strand of hair around one finger and then let something akin to a smile creep across his small features. "Do you think you could do more than that, brother?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you think it's not enough to simply become more famous to him? The only way to go all the way about it… the only way to gain the public eye… You'd have to ruin his life wouldn't you?"

Mello let out a short, harsh laugh, looking at the small, frail boy in a new light. "You know, this whole time I was thinking how very different we are, but I was wrong. You're more like me than I realized, you devious little brat!"

Near shrugged and twirled a strand. "I'm simply saying. It's true. Do you think you could do that?"

"You know," Mello laughed, "I think I could. I could definitely ruin his life."

"I could help," Near offered simply, picking his toy soldier back up.

"How so?"

"I have my ways," was all he would say.

Finally Mello let out a short laugh and held his hand out to his younger brother. "Okay."

"Okay?" Nate looked at his hand, confused.

"Okay. It's a deal. Let's ruin him."

Nate's small, pale hand reached up and clasped Mihael's.

--

* * *

No, I'm not going to write a long note here, either. Too impatient. Hope you liked! Next chap, Light and L are back. Review!


	16. Chapter 16

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Hello dears! I didn't bother with an author's note last time, so now I'm back with a vengeance. Firstly I hope everyone had a great Halloween- and it was L's birthday! As a celebration of the wonderful holiday and occasion, I drew a picture- there's a link on my profile, but if anyone is too lazy to go there, the address is: http : // img 232 . imageshack . us / my . php ? image = halloweenze3 . jpg You know the drill, just paste it in your address bar and delete the spaces. Anyways, my HaLLoween was awesome- my costume was Alice with a capital L. That is to say, I was L in drag. It turned out really cute, although most people didn't get the Deathnote undertones and just thought I was an adorable Alice. Which is okay too. ANYWAYS. This chap L and Light are back- hope you're happy! Read on, dears, and celebrate!

* * *

The morning after an argument was never any fun.

Light woke up at the crack of dawn, showered and dressed as quickly as possible to get the hell out of the house before his unwanted roommate woke up. He was feeling like utter crap- besides, ironically, his back, which had never felt better. He'd barely slept last night, as frustrated and confused as he had been.

As he slipped out of the house to pick up some breakfast at a café, he wondered what to do. He'd been so embarrassed and angry last night he'd thought about kicking Ryuzaki out. But his mother had taught him more manners than that, and he had to begrudgingly admit that it was unfair to want to kick someone out after they'd lived with you for only one day. Besides that, Light also had to admit Ryuzaki couldn't be blamed for his awkwardness. It obviously wasn't his fault that he'd grown up under a rock, or whatever it was that caused him to be so incredibly … weird. But that didn't stop the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of Light's stomach when he thought about the skinny, pale man. He wasn't sure what to do about it. He couldn't kick the faux-doctor out- that was most definitely against the laws of etiquette. There was a minimum trial period of at least two weeks before he was allowed to say, "This isn't working out." That way, the roommate in question had time to adapt to cohabitation, something that was very difficult to do even for normal people. But Ryuzaki was so… NOT normal, Light wondered if it'd be possible for him to adapt at all. How on earth was Light going to survive two weeks of him crouching around the house like that, asking too-personal questions and blowing things up in the microwave? And now he had to replace his maid. He was going to have a VERY difficult two weeks.

Part of Light thought that he might have been too harsh on the skinny weirdo… After all, Ryuzaki had simply been trying to help with the whole massage thing, and it wasn't his fault that he had no idea about personal space and borders. But then Light's mind would argue back, saying that it was impossible for a person to have NO concept of social standards and what was acceptable behavior. Even a person without modesty should at least know that other people were bound to get angry if you embarrassed them. And it had just made Light so… well, he couldn't even explain it. It was such a weird, unfamiliar feeling that it was only natural he fully reject it- right?

At any rate, thinking about it was only making him angry. He needed to finish breakfast and head to the studio early for a cold read of the script and a basic blocking rehearsal. He gulped down a latte and ate a croissant on the way to the studio, hoping that a good makeup artist would be there to make him look more like a human being and less like a zombie who'd just had the worst night ever.

* * *

Light's day had just taken a sharp turn for the worst.

It had only taken three point five seconds.

The second he left the hair and makeup artist's trailer, looking somewhat more presentable, he'd seen two blond heads of hair far too close together.

It was the two LAST people he wanted to see. They were bad enough separately, but at once… that was more than his fried nerves could take.

"LIGHT!" Misa cried out, blushing slightly. "Hi! Misa didn't expect to see you…"

Mello simply smirked at him. "Hey. Light. Fancy running into you here."

"Hmm. Fancy that," Light murmured, smiling his iciest smile. "What business do you have here today?" It was carefully phrased to sound exactly the way it did- polite on the surface, but letting Mello know he had no place on Light's set.

"Oh, you know. They wanted me to sit in on a filming, see how it works, pick up a little inspiration from superstars such as you." He lifted Misa's hand and placed a smooch on the back of it. "And then I ran into the lovely miss Amane. I had no idea how cute she was in person, you lucky dog."

"Oh, STOP!" Misa giggled. "Light, don't listen to Rockstar-san, he's just trying to embarrass me. We only just met. He was telling me all about how he's going to be an actor now! I was saying how exciting it is to have two careers- like how Misa Misa's a model, too."

Rockstar-san? She was calling him ROCKSTAR-san?

Light narrowed his eyes. Well, this was wonderful. The two greatest pains in his ass were totally hitting it off. No wonder- they had SOOO much in common.

"Well," he murmured, "we have to start our blocking rehearsal and choreography, Misa, don't forget."

Misa waved a hand dismissively at him. "Oh, Light, that isn't for another hour. Come talk to Misa and Rockstar-san, we were just discussing you!"

Light glared at the cocky little upstart, Mello, who was smiling like this was all intensely funny. 'Oh, were you?" Light murmured.

"We were just talking about how you and Misa are the talk of all the magazines. Isn't love grand? If only." Mello winked at Misa and she blushed a deep red.

OH, THAT WAS IT. Mello needed to MIND HIS OWN BUSINESS and stay OUT of Light's. He thought he could come in here and get into EVERYTHING that was Light's? He invaded his job, he was trying to take his fame, and now he wanted to flirt with his GIRLFRIEND? Sure, Light may not have liked her, but that wasn't the point. It was a territory thing- a male, testosterone kind of thing. Light would be DAMNED if he let Mello flirt with her like that. She was HIS, whether he wanted her or not.

Light slipped up beside Misa and slipped his arm around her waist, causing the short blonde to look at his slightly guiltily. "Hey, Misa," he murmured, "He's right. Love really is great. I sure am lucky."

Misa looked up at his with a sickeningly lovelorn expression. "Oh, Light. Misa has to have the greatest, cutest boyfriend on the face of the planet."

Mello made a gagging motion behind her back, which only succeeded in pissing Light off more.

"Anyways," Light continued, ignoring the sickening wannabe that called itself Mello, "I was just thinking. We haven't hung out in so long. Would you like to have dinner tomorrow night?"

He took the high-pitched squeal of delight Misa sent forth as a 'yes.'

Mello looked back and forth between the two of them. "How cute. But Misa, weren't you just telling me you had a photo shoot to go to tomorrow night?"

Misa's tiny face scrunched up in despair. "Oh noo, you're right! What can Misa-Misa do? She loves her Light, but she has to work…."

Light patted Misa's pigtailed head. "Go talk to Mogi. He works wonders with scheduling, I'm sure he can move it to some other night. I'll go ahead and make dinner reservations. You want to go to that little Indonesian place you like so much?"

Misa looked up at him, starry-eyed and excited, and nodded. "Yes, that'd be wonderful. Misa will go talk to Mogi now! Light is the Light of my life!" Misa cheered as she ran off in search of the hulking mountain of a man that called himself her manager.

This gave Light just the opportunity he'd been looking for. He spun on Mello, eyes ablaze, ready to fight.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

"Nothing," murmured Mello, slipping out of his cheerful flirtatious persona into one Light had never seen before. Mello seemed cold, ruthless, and almost… deadly. If Light were any lesser man, he'd be scared of the little upstart. But he wasn't. So he got two inches from the shorter blonde's face and let his voice drop to a threatening whisper.

"Don't let me catch you near my girlfriend again. I may be okay with you coming onto my show and trying to use my fame to your own ends. Hell, I may even be okay with you attempting to win more publicity and overshadow me. But you have NO right to take what belongs to me, and what belongs to me is Misa."

"Oh, she belongs to you?" Mello murmured, smirking a little. "I had no idea. See, that pretty little thing right there is part of the reason you're so famous, isn't she, Oh Light?"

The blood drained out of Light's face. Oh, HELL no.

"So what you're telling me," he murmured, voice shaking with rage, "is that you're… Misa is…."

"Even if I were to become more famous than you," Mello muttered, almost as though talking to himself, "there's an area of fame that you'd still have a monopoly over. And that's the celebutant-tabloid-romance section. The press eats up all that 'who's dating who' or 'who's engaged' or 'who has a baby bump' stuff. And you two are the talk of the town. It's all, 'when will Light pop the question?' and 'Are they the next Brangelina?'"

Light would have liked to punch the smart-assed blonde right then and there. But things like that got to the press fast, and the last thing he needed right now was any negative press. "So you're just ensuring your fame. By making sure Misa is another of your stepping stones to the top."

"Exactly." Mello's blue eyes glittered coldly as he stared at Light. "Can you blame me? Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same. Aren't you just using her, too?"

Light turned away from Mello, so angry that he was about to explode. But he wouldn't give this little brat the satisfaction of seeing it. "Don't you dare compare me to you. I am nothing like you. I'm the king of this show, and you're nothing. You hear me? Nothing." He moved to leave, but glanced over his shoulder at the blonde. "And you'll never get her. See, she actually loves me."

"We'll just see about that," Mello murmured, grinning slightly. "We'll see."

* * *

He'd stalled as long as he could, but the time had finally come for Light Yagami to go home.

Going to one's own residence wasn't supposed to fill one with such an inescapable sense of dread, was it? Light had tried every excuse he could think of to avoid going home. He'd stayed an extra hour at the studio talking with the director about his new season. He'd gone out wandering his favorite shopping district looking for a new outfit or a new book to read (he'd bought a copy of A Clockwork Orange, but had no luck finding any clothes that he didn't already have.) He'd eaten dinner at a café and then spent half an hour there reading his new book and nursing the same cup of coffee. But when nine o clock rolled around and he had to dismiss the idea of simply not going home that night and staying in a hotel (it was too conspicuous, the rumors would start flying immediately,) he was forced to head home.

He closed his eyes as he twisted the doorknob and prepared himself for the worst. The door swung open and Light braced himself as he walked into a condo that was…

… Clean.

Light looked around, confused. He'd expected a nuclear wasteland, or at the very least crumbs strewn all over the furniture and floor. There was no jelly donut waste in the microwave. There wasn't so much as a dead fly in the windowsill. The place was utterly sparkling.

A pair of black eyes peeped out of the door to his study. "Ah. Yagami-san."

Light looked around and swallowed his pride. Well, he might as well talk to Ryuzaki, if at least to find out how he got this spectacular new maid.

"Hey. Ryuzaki." An awkward silence blossomed for a second before Light cut it short by clearing his throat. "The place looks really clean. Did the maid agency send a new one, or…"

"I called someone," Ryuzaki murmured, still peeping out through the crack in the door as though hiding from his housemate's wrath.

Light looked around for a moment. Even things like the top of the fridge and the light sockets looked clean, places his old maid had conveniently forgotten. "You did? This maid is fantastic, I can't believe I didn't know about them, I should recommend the agency…."

"It wasn't a maid," Ryuzaki murmured, opening the door slightly more. "It was Watari."

Light's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he imagined the distinguished old gentleman scrubbing the floors and windows. "What? No way, he's a hospital director, surely he-"

"When I stayed at the hospital," Ryuzaki murmured, stepping out of Light's study and into the hallway, "my room had to be kept clean. And I wouldn't let any of the nurses in to mess with my things, so…"

"So Watari cleaned for you?" Light couldn't imagine what kind of influence Ryuzaki must have had if he could reduce the hospital director to a cleaning lady. Either the two had a very close relationship, or Ryuzaki was just that good that he could get whatever he wanted.

"Yes," Ryuzaki said, chewing on his thumbnail. "So I got him to clean Yagami-san's house, too." He looked Light up and down for a second. "Yagami-san is impressed."

"I am not!" scoffed the teen star, although he may have been a TEENSY bit impressed. "I mean, I…"

"Light-kun IS impressed," Ryuzaki said, a shadow of a smile turning his lips up. "He's in denial about it, with his closed off position and tight shoulders, but he's in awe of the service I have done him."

"Now you just sound cocky," Light muttered, sitting haughtily down on the couch and flipping on the TV. "Don't get TOO full of yourself. I'm still mad at you."

"Whatever you say, Light-kun," Ryuzaki said, crouching on the couch next to him and picking up the remote. "I would like to watch Young and The Restless. It is actually quite addictive."

"If you're blind and deaf and don't notice the horrible acting," Light retaliated, but he let the oddball change the channel.

"Light's letting me decide what we watch on TV. He can't be too angry with me."

"I will be in a second if you don't quit that emotional diagnosis thing."

"Now Light is bluffing. He doesn't think I'm that bad."

Light turned and glared at the faux-doctor. "Even if I did, there's no way I'd say it to you, you horrible awkward thing. It'd just swell your ego some more."

"I love you too, Light-kun," Ryuzaki murmured, smiling.

* * *

YAAAAAY! I FINALLY finished this chapter! The fact that it's taken me almost a month to get there… well, I'm sorry guys XD But anyways! I finally did it! It took the Thanksgiving Holidays to kick my butt into gear and get me to update. What do you think? Actually, Light and L's interaction is based on how my roommate and I are. We'll clash one day like we're the worst of enemies, and the next day we'll be buddies again. We've actually taken to calling each other Light and L because it's so like them XD Anyways! I hope you guys are looking forward to gorging yourselves on turkey, or turduckens, or whatever it is you're going to eat, because I sure am… Well! Review, review, review! Thanks for the patience folks! XOXOX!


	17. Chapter 17

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Hey! Sorry about the long wait… but it's holiday season, so I hope I'm excused. I won't dawdle around this time, so let's get straight to it. Here's Little Things!

* * *

What surprised Light the most was that L was so easy to forgive.

Even more so, that Light didn't find himself holding a grudge.

Oh, he continued playing like he was mad the rest of the night (especially after that weird "I love you" crack), but Light had several moments where he had to hide his face to keep Ryuzaki from realizing he was grinning. It had taken Light a little while to figure out, but he'd had an epiphany about Ryuzaki.

You had to take everything the oddball said with a grain of salt. If you took him too seriously, you'd end up having WTF moments left and right, and you wouldn't be able to pick your jaw up from the floor long enough to speak. But if you assumed that 97 percent of everything he said was a joke or a lie (it was hard to tell with that deadpan of his) then you would be okay. Knowing that actually made him easier to get along with. By the end of the night, Light was thinking he might actually make it through the two-week trial period after all. (Although he was still iffy about keeping Ryuzaki any longer than that.)

After watching lame TV shows most of the night, Light went to bed feeling reasonable and actually woke up in a decent mood. This morning, he didn't accidentally almost-walk-in-on-slash-eavesdrop on Ryuzaki, and he even got to work without much incident. There was no Mello at the studio- a big happiness booster for Light. In fact, his day was looking great.

He didn't have long, however, before his phone rang. That usually never ended well. Light flipped it open with a deep breath, preparing for the worst.

"Yello?"

"Yellow is a color, not a greeting, Light-kun."

He let out the breath. "Ryuzaki."

"That is I."

"What do you want? Didn't I tell you not to call me after work?"

"This is doctor business, actually."

Light raised his eyebrows. "Oh? So you're calling me as Doctor L and not as Roommate Ryuzaki?"

"That depends. Which one would you take to dinner tonight?"

Light spluttered. "Ryuzaki. It sounds like you're asking me on a freaking DATE!"

"Does it? I wasn't aware. But as your roommate and your doctor, I have to ensure that you eat properly… and that I eat, so…"

Light rubbed his temples. Oh yeah. Ryuzaki was incapable of feeding himself. Light hadn't even thought to bring him anything home yesterday (well, he'd been too mad to feed him.) Had Ryuzaki even eaten since then?

"Ryuzaki, did you eat yesterday?"

"Yes. I had Watari bring me something from a café. But as the doctor, I should be asking that question."

"Yes, I ate," Light hastily declared. "So no lapsing into doctor mode on me."

"Very well. Then all that is left to discuss is dinner tonight. I have no knowledge of the eating facilities in this town, so I shall leave that to Light-kun…"

"Alright, alright. I'll pick you up after I get off work and we'll grab a bite. But after tonight I'm teaching you how to get food for yourself."

"I am prepared to learn. I shall see you later, Light-kun."

"Yeah. See you later, Ryuzaki."

Light had barely hung up the phone when he was assaulted by a blur of Goth-Lolita. Oh, lawrdy. It was his girlfriend.

"My liiiiiight!" she squealed. "I found you! Misa-Misa has been looking for you to tell you that Mogi fixed her schedule and she can go to dinner tonight!"

Light's heart sank. Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

He'd promised Misa YESTERDAY that he'd take her out to dinner. But he'd just promised Ryuzaki they'd go out to eat tonight. If he didn't take Misa out, that squirmy little rat Mello would probably squirm in and offer to take her out himself. And if he didn't take Ryuzaki out to eat, who knows what the oddball would blow up in his microwave.

Shit.

He couldn't cancel on either one of them.

Which meant he had to take them BOTH out.

TOGETHER.

Oh, hell in a handbag. Things could never go right for him, could they?

The day flew by too fast for Light's liking. He tried to prolong and delay things as long as he could, furiously calculating some way he could get out of this, but the idea of standing Ryuzaki up made Light feel ridiculously guilty, and he simply couldn't afford to do anything that could cause Misa not to adore him right now. Damn it. Why did this smell like disaster already?

"Misa," he asked tentatively, "is it okay if someone comes along to eat with us tonight? My friend is here from out of town… and I would want it to just be the two of us, for a romantic dinner, but… I can't leave him hanging."

Misa pouted for a second, but quickly brightened up. "Sure! Misa doesn't mind, she'll arrange for a date for him and it can be a cute little double-date!"

A date. For Ryuzaki. Light winced thinking about the therapy the poor girl would need.

"Who were you thinking about inviting?"

"Well, Misa could invite Kiyomi." The blonde grinned evilly. As far as the tabloids knew, Misa Amane and Kiyomi Takada were close friends, but in reality their relationship was more like a rivalry. Whereas Kiyomi had chosen the more 'serious' job of journalist, Misa was 'wasting her life' as a teen idol. They acted like the best of buddies, but their actual feelings towards each other kind of scared Light. It also didn't help that Kiyomi had a massive crush on Light.

"Her…?"

"Sure. It would be great fun setting her up with someone else, that way she could stay away from my Light. Plus, I'm sure she'd LOVE to see how well Light and I are doing."

She looked tiny and sweet, but Light made a mental note that Misa could be a scary, evil demon when she wanted to. "Oh. …Okay then. But I should warn you… my friend is a little… odd. He may not be her type…"

"Even better!" cheered Misa and skipped off to debate for an hour on what dress to wear for their date tonight. Light shuddered and hoped he'd never get on her bad side.

Clearing things with Ryuzaki was even easier. Light called him up after Misa left and announced that he'd be bringing Misa to dinner with him.

Ryuzaki's voice sounded strange and dreamy when he responded. "Misa Amane…? That is fine, fine…"

"Ryuzaki? You have to be on your best behavior. This is my girlfriend we're talking about."

"Yes, yes. Misa Amane…"

Light raised his eyebrows. "She'll be bringing a friend. As a date for you."

"My first real date… Oh, my…"

"So you have to try not to be awkward, Ryuzaki… that's really important… Your date is a classy kind of girl."

"I have no idea what Light-kun is talking about. I would never be awkward in front of Misa Amane…"

Light raised his eyebrows. "She's MY date, Ryuzaki…"

"Of course, of course…" The oddball trailed off and there was a full minute of silence before Light cleared his throat.

"Okay. Well. I'm going to go, and I'll be home soon to pick you up and we'll meet Misa at the Thai restaurant. Okay?"

"Mm hmm…" Ryuzaki seemed to be daydreaming, and probably didn't even notice as Light hung up the phone.

Light sped home, argued with Ryuzaki for a half hour and barely managed to convince him to swap his bland jeans and sweater for an outfit of Light's, and then rushed to keep Misa from waiting. They arrived at the restaurant five minutes after the girls, and Misa was pouting as Light stepped out of the vehicle.

"Misa-Misa was worried you wouldn't show, Light!"

"Oh, Misa, you know I'd never stand you up," Light purred at her, pulling her into a hug and quickly pecking her on the lips. "You know that."

Kiyomi's eyes were locked on Light during the whole show, and Light bet that Misa knew it. She cleared her throat after Light finished speaking and stuck out her hand.

"Light. I haven't seen you since I did that interview for Entertainment Tonight. How are you?"

Light shook her hand. "Kiyomi. I've been okay. I hear you may be going to work for CNN."

"Oh, that." She waved one hand delicately. "Those are just rumors. Nothing is confirmed yet."

At this point, Ryuzaki barged in peered at Misa. Oh, no. It was starting.

"Misa Amane…" the oddball muttered, still staring. "So she IS as pretty in person."

Misa giggled and blushed. "Light! I had no idea your friend was a fan."

Light nudged Ryuzaki rather hard in the ribs with one elbow. Getting the hint, the faux-doctor quickly averted his gaze.

"Yes… ah…. Misa, Kiyomi, I would like you to meet my friend, Ryuu-"

"Ryuga Hideki," Ryuzaki mumbled. "Just like the pop star. Isn't it funny?"

Light raised his eyebrows sharply. Why on earth was he using a fake name? Did L think sharing a name with the singer would make the girls think he was cool?

"Pleasure to meet you, Ryuga," Kiyomi said as politely as possible, holding her hand out for him to shake. Ryuzaki stared at it as though unsure what to do.

"Ah… come on. Our table is waiting," Light quickly interrupted, nudging Ryuzaki in the ribs again.

They weren't even inside the restaurant yet. Why was it that Light's life was as dramatic as Ryuzaki's lame soap operas lately?

* * *

Hello again guys! I'm sorry if this chapter isn't particularly exciting or anything… lately it seems like all my writing has gone downhill… I'm even getting irritated with Little Things. I'm trying my hardest to keep it fresh and funny, but… until I can get to the major plot stuff it seems like it's just dragging on…. Help me out, guys; tell me if it's boring you, neh?

Anyways. In small news, I'm 18 now! Which means I'm eligible to buy all those yaoi doujin… fu haha… And also, I can shop off infomercials!

But wait, there's more! Nikkiacat also made the coolest discovery the other day. I- and probably all of you- have a Wikipedia! I got to mine by googling my pen name, and if you do the same I wouldn't mind if you wanted to edit my Wiki. SO LONG AS YOU DON'T ERASE MY HISTORY OR ANYTHING. If you do that, I'll never reply to another review.

And last, but definitely not least, my friend discovered another manga by Ohba and Obata the other day! It's probably old news to most of you, but to those not in the loop, it's called Bakuman. It's not action-packed or anything, but it has really lovable characters and almost seems as though it's about our favorite manga creators themselves… if they were middle school boys. And if you're anything like me, you'll absolutely adore the really weird child prodigy who makes his own sound effects, Nizuma Eiji.

And that's all I have to say. I hope to write faster than this next time… and I hope you liked ^^ Ja ne!


	18. Chapter 18

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

Omagawd, guys, chapter 18! Just like my age! Can you believe it? … Well, I promised a quick-ish update, which means no dawdling in the Author's Note… so here ya go. Chapter 18!

* * *

When they got to the table, as predicted, Ryuzaki pulled his feet up in his chair and hunched over. Light opted to sit like a HUMAN BEING rather than a caveman, or some kind of spider monkey.

The place was dimly lit and decorated with a distinctly East Asian theme- which would have made it very romantic for a twosome, but with the dim lighting and atmospheric music, Ryuzaki only looked more out of place. Light rubbed his temples and thanked the waiter as he brought them menus.

"So," Misa purred, scooting her chair closer to Light's so that their thighs were touching, "what is my Light gonna order?"

"I don't know yet. What about you guys? Any idea what you want to eat?"

"This all looks good… But rather… spicy." Takada primly unfolded a napkin and placed it in her lap. "I'll have to think about it."

Ryuzaki picked up the menu with two fingers and let it dangle in front of his face. "…. Hmmm… I don't see any desserts…."

Light raised an eyebrow. "There's other good food, though, Ryuga, besides dessert."

Ryuzaki put on a goofy smile and glanced first at Misa, then at Kiyomi. "Of course. But they say that you are what you eat, and I was hoping to be sweet for such lovely ladies."

Misa giggled. ACTUALLY giggled at that lame line. And even worse, even "Sophisticated" Kiyomi let out a little chuckle at her "date's" antics.

"In fact, I would guess Miss Amane and Miss Takada eat many sweets themselves." Ryuzaki continued, holding one finger up in the air as though making a very important point.

"Are you calling Misa-Misa fat?" Misa pouted, clinging onto Light's arm.

"No, just the opposite. I was calling Misa-san SWEET," Ryuzaki said, putting on an expression that Light guessed was supposed to be 'cute'.

Kiyomi chuckled again- though whether at the 'sweet' comment or the idea of Misa getting called fat, Light wasn't sure.

The waiter came by, interrupting Ryuzaki's unabashed idiocy, and asked what everyone would be drinking tonight. Misa ordered a soft drink, Kiyomi asked for some diet-something or the other, and Light got coffee.

"Coffee does sound nice," Ryuzaki murmured, chewing on his index finger. "Could I get one with six creams and eleven sugars?"

The waiter's eyebrows shot up so high that they disappeared beneath his hair. "Pardon?"

"Six creams, eleven sugars. If you do not mind."

The waiter shot Light a look like 'Is he serious?' and then cleared his throat. "Well, sir, I'll just bring you the sugar and cream containers and allow you to do it yourself."

"Alright then," Ryuzaki announced, dropping his menu and placing his hands on his knees.

The waiter scurried off, no doubt muttering to himself about crazy people. Light could feel a migraine developing already. Of course. It had been too much to ask for one peaceful, non-chaotic day, hadn't it? And things had started off so well this morning…

"So," Kiyomi piped up, folding her hands primly on the table, "how do you and Light know each other, Ryuga?"

Light opened his mouth to divert the question, but Ryuzaki was already speaking.

"Light and I have been friends since we were both this tall." He held one hand a foot above the table.

Light didn't point out that he'd only been six months old when he was that tall, and that it was hard to make friends with a six-month-old.

"Oh? Is that so?" Kiyomi held a hand up to her mouth and laughed.

"Yes. In fact, there are many interesting stories I could tell about Light-kun's childhood…"

"Oh, Ryuga, don't!" Light interjected, taking on the tone of voice of someone playfully bantering with his or her best friend. "You know I have just as many stories about you, and the girls might not think you're so cool if they find out about that one time when you were five… With the hamster…"

What did Ryuzaki think he was doing? Admittedly, it was a more believable story than "I'm actually secretly a doctor, and after Light collapsed one time, I just sort of ended up crashing at his condo, and we've only known each other for a week or so," but Light had NO interest in hearing what kind of crackpot stories Ryuzaki would make up about his childhood.

"Light wouldn't DARE tell that story," Ryuzaki scoffed, opening his panda eyes very wide. " It would make the lovely Kiyomi-san blush."

"We couldn't have THAT, could we!" guffawed Misa, flapping one hand in Kiyomi's direction. "She only blushes every five seconds!"

Light shivered as an icy wind seemed to blow from Takada's end of the table. She didn't even have to say a word.

"Ah, but Misa-san. I don't think such stories are fit for the ears of beautiful women."

Misa giggled. "Ryuga is so funny!"

Light wanted to puke. How come Ryuzaki acted like this around the girls, but couldn't even pretend to have the slightest inclination toward social graces around Light? It seemed… unfair. Light fumed for a second before realizing it almost sounded like he was jealous that Ryuzaki flirted with Misa…

… And not with him.

But that was ridiculous. He frantically reasoned with himself that he was just being defensive because EVERYONE was coming onto Misa these days, and it was a threat.

Still. It would be nice if the quirky moron could at least pretend to be charming for Light sometimes. It would make life easier.

"So," Kiyomi interjected, clearly fed up with Misa getting showered in praise, "What do you do for a living, Ryuga?"

"I… study medicine."

Light scoffed. Of course he wouldn't tell the truth. Saying he was a reclusive doctor with no medical license and no valid education didn't sound glamorous enough.

"Oh! A med student?" Misa unlatched herself from Light's arm and clapped her hands. "Ryuga must be super smart!"

"I was considering med school," Light interjected, "but I followed my passion instead of going where the money was." Did he sound vindictive? Maybe a little.

"And yet Light-kun ended up fantastically rich anyways. What a wonderful world," Ryuzaki casually observed.

Light had never, in his lifetime, wanted to strangle someone so badly. For a minute he wished he really WERE Kira, the avenging angel, so he could lop off 'Ryuga Hideki's' head with his flaming sword.

Misa scooted back towards Light and rubbed her face against his arm. "Ah, but my Light doesn't care about the money. He's such a sweetheart!"

"Of course not. Didn't you tell me in that interview that you donate most of your money to hospitals, anyways, Light?" Kiyomi interrupted, not content to let Misa be the only one praising Light.

"Well… Yes," Light chuckled, putting on his 'humble' face. "So in a way you could say that I'm helping YOU out, Ryuga."

"Mm, I never considered it like that. In that case, I am eternally grateful for your kindness."

The waiter showed up at that moment bearing drinks, so attention was diverted long enough to sort out who was drinking what, and Light noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ryuzaki was ACTUALLY putting SIX creams and ELEVEN sugars in his coffee. Lord help him.

The waiter asked what everyone would be ordering. Light ate here relatively often with Misa, so he already knew what he wanted, as did she. Kiyomi hummed and hawed for a few minutes before settling on a relatively tame dish. And Ryuzaki stared blankly at the menu for five minutes before finally saying he'd have what Light had.

Then the waiter scurried off again, leaving Light alone with this nutcase and the girls.

"So, Light," Ryuzaki murmured, idly stirring his coffee (though at this point it was more like slush than liquid) "How are you?"

"Decent," Light muttered, making angry circles in his drink with a coffee stir.

"How has the show been going?" Kiyomi asked, turning towards Light with an oh-so-interested expression.

But before Light could say a word Misa jumped in.

"Oh, you know, Light has been working so very hard to make the best show ever, but really, what's the best is the time he gets to spend with me." She beamed her best in-your-face look at the woman across the table from her.

Kiyomi cleared her throat. "I wasn't aware that you spoke for him."

Misa giggled. "Oops. Silly me. We must be like married couples that-"

"Finish each other's sentences?" Light finished, catching Misa's cue

. Really, it had nothing to do with their status as a couple, and was an actor thing. Light had learned long ago to pick up the cue in someone's voice when they started a sentence that they had no intention of completing. Misa, as a trained actor as well, knew it, and was using it to rub salt in Kiyomi's wounds.

But since Kiyomi Takada had given up on acting log ago, she had no idea, and she just got pissed.

Light almost smirked. One thing he could say about his girlfriend was that, even though she wasn't very bright, she certainly knew how to win a catfight.

Now if only he could train her to work her magic against Mello.

Ryuzaki picked up his napkin and unfolded it, staring at it. Kiyomi and Misa continued shooting carefully veiled comments back and forth at each other, but Light's eyes were on Ryuzaki. The idiot savant folded his napkin this way and that, carefully creasing it here and there, and within moments he had produced a paper crane.

So the same hands that massaged Light's back and took his temperature could also produce origami. Ryuzaki never ceased to surprise Light.

The faux-doctor puffed a breath of air into the bottom of the crane where it was open to inflate it and then handed it across the table to Misa, cutting her off mid-snide-remark.

"Huh?" She took it in her hands and stared at it.

"For you," Ryuzaki murmured, running his index finger across his lower lip.

Kiyomi laughed delicately behind her hand again. "Why Ryuga! What a remarkable skill! Could you make me one?"

"Of course," Ryuzaki seemed pleased with the attention. Not only that but, Light noticed, he had ended the catfight without saying a single word. His anger forgotten for a moment, Light realized that Ryuzaki might have known more about how to interact with people than he let on. He acted completely hopeless and inept, but maybe that was just a façade.

Light was kind of impressed.

But still mad, of course.

As Ryuzaki set to making a companion crane for Kiyomi, Light turned to Misa. Since Takada was paying rapt attention to her date's quick hands, he could discuss things with Misa without being interrupted.

"Hey Misa. Sorry this hasn't been the ideal date."

She snuggled against his shoulder, sighing. "It's okay. Misa-Misa has had FUN!"

"But are you sure you wouldn't have preferred it to be just the two of us?" Because while Light had to juggle his attention between the two girls obsessed with him and keeping Ryuzaki from embarrassing him, he couldn't butter Misa up like he usually did, and that meant that Mello could still win her over.

"No," Misa sighed contently, "I'm fine with this. It's fun meeting Light's friends."

"Good." He gave her a quick peck on the lips which he was sure Takada noticed despite having her eyes on Ryuzaki.

Misa leaned out of her seat in an attempt to draw Light into a better kiss, but he gently pushed her away.

"Not in public," he mumbled. Truth be told, Light didn't care that much for kissing Misa, because she was never content to stop. If she had her way they'd be making out 24/7, and Light just wasn't that… well, into her.

She pouted and plopped back into her seat, but Light didn't miss her grin. She had still gotten a kiss from Light in front of her number one rival.

Ryuzaki blew into the second paper crane and handed it to Kiyomi, who marveled over how delicate it was to anyone who would listen. Light crossed his arms, thinking vaguely to himself how OF COURSE Ryuzaki wouldn't make HIM a crane, seeing as HE wasn't a GIRL.

It was stupid. He wasn't supposed to be jealous like this. If anything, he should be jealous that Ryuzaki was so openly hitting on his girlfriend… and in a way, he was. But somehow it seemed more annoying that his roommate was paying more attention to her than he was to Light. After all, they were supposed to be friends- hadn't Ryuzaki said so himself? And what about that rule, 'Bro's before Ho's?' Guy friends were supposed to joke around with each other in public while their girls laughed from the sidelines. Ryuzaki lived with Light- so he should be trying to impress Light instead of showing off for these girls that Light would make sure he never saw again. Right?

Light was snapped out of his thoughts by a voice calling his name. It was Ryuzaki's.

"Huh?"

"I asked if Light-kun would like one as well."

Light was thrown off-guard. What, he was really going to do his stupid party trick for Light, too, and not just for the girls?

"Uh… Yeah, sure." Light almost blushed. Almost. But that was unbecoming for a teenage guy.

Misa held her crane by one wing and twirled it in lazy circles making 'zoom zoom' sounds with her mouth, and Takada held hers in the palm of her hand, tracing one manicured fingertip over the edges of it. But Light's eyes were on Ryuzaki's hands, watching intently how his roommate worked his magic. Soon enough, the crane had taken shape, and Ryuzaki breathed into it and, holding it with only two fingers, handed it to Light.

Light tried to ignore the heat in his cheeks and set it casually down on the table, but he found himself glancing at the stupid origami bird throughout the entire night. It was just a dumb party trick. So why did Light feel so grateful to have been included?

Some higher power must have heard his prayers, because the rest of the dinner passed without much hassle. Food arrived and occupied everyone enough to slow conversation down to a trickle. L picked at his and pushed it around, but Light swore he never caught the faux-doctor take a single bite. The most exciting thing that happened during the meal was Takada choking on a particularly spicy bite of something and Misa guffawing about it all the way home. (Ryuzaki almost gave her the Heimlich until she frantically protested that she was alright.) As they each stood up to leave, producing their portion of the tip and bill (Light ended up paying for both Ryuzaki and Misa AND Ryuzaki's cut of the tip) Light picked up his tiny napkin-crane and staring at it for a second. Then, without thinking, he folded it flat and tucked it into his pocket.

Not that he was being sentimental or anything. It was just a neat little piece of origami.

So why did he almost feel like smiling all the way home?

* * *

So! It took me a while, but as a result I think I have a longer chapter than usual, so count it as a reward. How's everyone been? Next chapter, I should have some excitement happen, so I hope everyone sticks around for it! Review, please, and thanks for readin' guys!


	19. Chapter 19

The Little Things Give You Away

Ch. 19

Hey folks! Sorry…. It's been an indecently long time since my last update, hasn't it? Well, I come as the bearer of even more bad news. It relates, you see, to Lent. You know, that time when Catholics give something up that is harmful to them, like coffee or meat. Well, I'm not the least bit catholic, so that doesn't apply to me at all. But since a lot of my friends were giving things up, even the non-catholic ones, I decided to give something up too, as an exercise of my flabby and severely underused self-control. At first I thought about sugar, but that was OUT OF THE QUESTION, seeing as I need it to survive. So the next option was my only other, wholly consuming and utterly hurtful addiction… you got it, fanfiction. So now I have to do something else in class and during break, besides reading/writing/thinking about fics. There are only two exceptions to this rule: I can type up something I've already written, and I can write a special fic I'm planning for Nikkiacat, since her birthday was the 26th (wish her a happy b-day, anyone!)

So anyways, to make a long story short. I won't be able to update for 40 days, so I'm treating you to a quick update, maybe even a double update, since I already had these two chaps written. Here you go guys! And hopefully, I'll be able to type up the next chap and give you a quick double update. Thanks for the patience!

--

The backseat of the car was cozy and warm. Light had arranged for a driver to take himself and Ryuzaki to and from the restaurant seeing as it was a somewhat formal event. Besides that, he just didn't feel like driving. Now he sat in the back of the luxury SUV, leaning back against the leather seats. His napkin-crane was neatly folded flat and tucked into his pocket.

Ryuzaki sat next to him, somehow managing to pull his feet onto the seat while buckled in. Light wanted to scold him for ruining the upholstery, but he couldn't be bothered. At least he wasn't barefoot. (Much to Ryuzaki's dismay, his feet were stuffed into a pair of Light's old shoes. Hey, at least they matched the button-up and slacks Light had forced him into.)

Light couldn't help but notice how small the backseat felt, how close Ryuzaki seemed. He thought these SUV's were supposed to be spacious. Next time he'd get a limo. Not that sitting next to Ryuzaki was all that unpleasant of anything.

"So… err, did you enjoy dinner?"

Those big, dark eyes swiveled his way. Ryuzaki's gaze was so intense sometimes.

"Ah, well… I did not eat much of it, Light."

As if confirming his story, Ryuzaki's stomach gurgled in protest.

Light nearly face palmed. "What? You didn't? I paid good money for that food, Ryuzaki!" _He was too busy flirting with the girls to eat, _hissed some monstrous beast in the back of Light's head. Crushing it down, Light rubbed his temples and looked at his friend. "Did you at least get a to-go box?"

Ryuzaki pointed to a white Styrofoam container stashed in the floorboards. "Light can have it. I… don't like it."

"Then why didn't you order something else?"

"I did say I wished they had desserts on the menu."

So all that about the sweets hadn't just been a lame setup for a pickup line? Come to think of it, that pizza Ryuzaki had ordered had been a dessert pizza…. And it was only sweet things he'd blown up in the microwave. Was he some sort of sugar junkie?

"Do you only eat sweets or something, Ryuzaki?"

A strange smile crept across Ryuzaki's face. He raised one finger and placed it on his lower lip. "I would prefer to. They taste better."

How… childish. Light should have known. As well as living at the hospital and having Watari clean for him, Ryuzaki probably ate nothing but vending-machine candy and hospital cafeteria cake. It seemed as though 'L' was allowed to do whatever he wanted to so long as he kept solving cases.

Light sighed. "Well, I promised to feed you tonight, and I can't in good conscience let you go hungry." He leaned forward to speak to the driver. "John, can you take us to the little café off 3rd?"

"Yes, sir."

"Thanks." Light leaned back and looked over at Ryuzaki. "You'd better be happy, you royal pain in the ass."

"Thank you…. Light."

Light's favorite café was a tiny place off of 3rd street with a distinctly coffeehouse feel. The dim lights, soft jazz music and plush couches or armchairs made the place seem homey and welcoming. This was a place for softly spoken, long, philosophical debates over coffee and an éclair. Had Light been here with anyone else, he'd have almost called it romantic. But that was ridiculous; there was nothing remotely romantic about Ryuzaki.

"Well, go to the counter and order something already."

Ryuzaki grabbed Light's sleeve and held it with two fingers. "Will Light come with me?"

"Can't you do it on your own? I'm comfortable."

"I'm shy, Light-kun."

_Shy my ass. You weren't the east bit shy around the girls,_ snarled that same beast voice. Light once again suppressed it and stood up with an exaggerated sigh.

One piece of cheesecake, two éclairs and a hot tea later, Ryuzaki crouched on the sofa looking pleased. "Thank you again, Light."

"Yeah, yeah. You're a nightmare, you know."

"But Light loves me despite that, yes?"

Damn… why did that little statement make Light feel so flustered? "Yeah," he muttered, quickly so that Ryuzaki wouldn't hear the embarrassment in his voice. Shit, he needed a change of subject… fast.

"So… do you like Kiyomi?"

L's eyes clearly showed confusion. "Of course I like her. Why would I dislike her?"

Another almost-face palm moment. "No, I mean, do you LIKE her? As in, would you date her?"

"I'm… not sure. How do you know?"

Light had thought before that Ryuzaki might not have been inept as he acted. This, however, blew that idea COMPLETELY from his mind. He was INCOMPETENT.

Light rubbed his temples. "Well… when you're interested in dating someone, you're physically and mentally attracted to him or her. You want to be around them all the time, and touch them. Your heart speeds up when you think about them."

Ryuzaki pondered for a second. "I like spending time around Light, since we are friends now. And his mind is rather interesting to me."

Light's heart skipped a beat. "No… not like that, Ryuzaki. Don't be stupid. I'm talking about someone you have ROMANTIC feelings for. Like… you want to be with them forever."

"I wouldn't mind staying in Light's library forever. If he'd allow it."

Light growled in exasperation, but part of him felt slightly giddy. Having Ryuzaki in his library forever wouldn't be so bad. It was only everywhere ELSE that the dark-haired faux-doctor caused trouble.

But that was beside the point. "What I mean, Ryuzaki, is that you would want to KISS someone you wanted to date. You know…. Uh. You know, MAKE love to them."

His new roommate and friend stared at him blankly. "Ah. Well, I do not wish to kiss or make love to Kiyomi-san. So I must not want to date her."

For some reason, a weight seemed to lift off of Light's chest, but he kept going with his line of questioning. "What about Misa, then? Do you… like HER like that?"

After a thoughtful pause, Ryuzaki murmured, "No. And not only because, as Light's girlfriend, she is off-limits."

"Really?" He didn't expect Ryuzaki to be the type to tell a lie just to please someone, but even the most ignorant person surely knew you didn't tell a girl's boyfriend that you liked her to his face. So he could have been just bullshitting.

"Really, Light-kun. To be honest, I wonder how you put up with her. While she has a lovely face, and is extraordinarily nice to look at, her personality is rather grating. I do not think I would enjoy time in her company."

Wow. So even Ryuzaki couldn't handle large doses of Misa.

"Now you know how I feel," Light mumbled.

"But Light is dating her… So is it that he wishes to kiss, touch and make love to her? And if so, why hasn't he already?"

Light's face flushed cherry red. "Let's not go there again, Ryuzaki."

"Alright, then."  
Light felt an awkward question dangling on the tip of his tongue, and he was unsure if he should vocalize it. Summing up his courage, he let it fly.

"So if you don't like them, why were you so blatantly hitting on Misa and Takada, then?"

It sounded a little confrontational, sure. And maybe, just maybe, Light sounded a little snippy and irritated. But really, he was over it.

Really.

Ryuzaki picked up the fork he had been eating cake with. In the dim light of the café, in Light's borrowed clothes, he looked very frail and lost.

"I wanted to impress Light by showing him that I could charm girls."

It hit light like a slap to the face.

…Impress him?

That whole stupid shebang had been aimed Light's direction? So he had been getting jealous when, the whole time, Ryuzaki was…

Hesitantly, Light put out a hand and touched L's shoulder. "Hey… you don't have to…. If you just … I…."

Ryuzaki set the fork down, delicately, on the coffee table with his empty plates. "I have a question for Light."

"…Yes?"

"Does Light believe it is better to live a life making others happy, while feeling regrets for all the actions one cannot take? Or is it better to live a life without regret or fear of hurting others, fulfilling only one's own dreams?"

Where had that come from? The teen star had no idea what to say in response to that. "It depends on what's important to you… but shouldn't you try to leave something behind for the people who care about you? Regardless of what you want… shouldn't you live for others?"

"I thought Light would say that. I suppose it is… the 'right' answer…."

"What does that mean?"

"That Light would say it if he was trying to sound like a person who was inherently good… but I, Light-kun…." L leaned forward. "I think I would like to live without regrets."

And then he kissed Light.


	20. Chapter 20

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

So! How much do you guys hate me? XD I can't count the number of reviews I've gotten saying, "NOOO, HOW COULD YOU JUST END IT THERE?" or other similar things haha! But, by popular demand, I'm once again exploiting that Lent loophole that allows me to go ahead and type something that I've already written.

Might I add that this Lent thing is killing me? Two of my current fic obsessions have been updated during my restriction, and every time I open my inbox the alerts have been sitting there, looking at me. It's maddening. Not to mention the fact that now I want to read fiction for EVERYTHING. Normally I stay in the Deathnote section; now I'm wondering if every book I read, movie I watch and game I play has an section. It's MADDENING.

Which must be how you guys feel reading through this long note, so I'll go ahead and get going. Love you guys! Please don't kill me!

* * *

A phone call, part two.

**Phone rings.**

M: Yo.

N: Mello?

M: That's me. … Is that… you, bro?

N: Yes… Ah, I was calling to see how…. Work was going.

M: Ha! It's going GREAT. You should've seen that ass's face when I started getting all buddy-buddy with Misa-Misa. I think she likes me. If I snatch her out from under his nose, it'd drive him CRAZY, and the media would have a field day!

N: You're cleverer than I thought.

M: You're eviler than I thought. Must be genetic.

N: Ha… perhaps.

M: So how're things going on your end? You said you had something that would really screw him up….

N: I'm going to make a call soon, but I'm waiting for the opportune moment… at the moment, I don't know if what I have planned will HURT Light Yagami or make him happy…

M: Yeah, we can't have that…. Uh, …Nate?

N: Call me Near.

M: (swears under breath) Fine. Near. …. Have you talked to the folks… your folks… lately?

N: (long silence). Yes.

M: Right. Well, maybe you could, you know, tell them about how I've been doing in the acting biz. Make me look good; Maybe I could… visit more, you know, when you're NOT in the hospital….

N: (barely whispering) …yes, maybe….

M: You okay? You sound….

N: I'm fine.

M: … okay…. Well, Matt could come see you too. He's been acting weird lately, all moody and stuff, but you'd like him when he's not like that.

N: Weird?

M: Yeah… ever since I started this Misa thing, he's been on my case… I don't get it; he's acting like a girl. Who knows? …. How's treatment going?

N: (awkward pause) … Okay….

M: Um… well, I better go; I think I hear Matt. I'll talk to you later Na- err, Near.

N: Yes… later. Good luck… with Misa.

M: … Thanks. Later.

**Click.**

**

* * *

**

L kissed him.

KISSED HIM.

Light's head was spinning, he felt dizzy, he couldn't see straight.

There was a pair of lips pressing against his; Light thought for a moment how very smooth they were, but then he realized they belonged to a MAN, and he jerked away, staring dumbly at Ryuzaki.

_Inside out, upside-down twisting beside myself,_

_Stop that now, cos you and I were never meant to be_

_I think you better leave; it's not safe in here,_

_I feel a weakness coming on._

"What are you doing?" Light snapped, his heart thudding against his ribcage.

"I kissed Light. I would have assumed that he knew what a kiss was," Ryuzaki mumbled. "It is not a thimble, Light-kun."

"I- what?" Light shook his head, still feeling slightly dizzy. "What the hell, Ryuzaki? Why did you kiss me?"

Ryuzaki turned away from Light and shrugged. "What does Light-kun think?"

Light felt something twinge inside him; he wasn't familiar with the feeling. "I think you just freaked me the hell out." He stood up, feeling his knees shake slightly, and started towards the door.

"Where is Light going?" Ryuzaki mumbled.

"To the car!" Light snapped.

"And what am I supposed to do?" Ryuzaki mumbled, sounding meeker than Light had ever heard him.

"Come on then," the teen star hissed, "but hurry up, people are starting to stare."

Light couldn't stop the onslaught of thoughts rushing through his head. He heard the Beast hissing in his ear. _You liked it when he was kissing you, you wanted to shove your tongue down his throat, admit it, and you've had the hots for him since day one…._

Light clenched his fist and flung open the door to the SUV. "Get in," he hissed at Ryuzaki.

"Is Light… ANGRY?" Ryuzaki murmured, clambering awkwardly into the vehicle and pulling his feet up onto the upholstery.

"Of course I am!" Light hissed. "You can't just go around kissing people! Especially not another guy! Especially not in public!"

Ryuzaki was acting so damn oblivious and stupid. He should have known damn well what was wrong with Light! How was Light SUPPOSED to react to someone just kissing him? Was he supposed to just laugh it off?

"You have no idea what a nightmare you could have unleashed!" Light continued, feeling himself get angrier by the second. "What if the media was around? What if someone got pictures? Not only would there be a scandal because I'm supposedly cheating on Misa, but the media would go NUTS if they thought I was gay! I can't be gay! Think of what it would do to my image!"

"Is Light angry because he didn't like it," Ryuzaki inquired casually, "or because he is worried about his image?"

"Just shut up!" Light hissed. "I couldn't like it! I can't like you like that! I can't be…. A faggot!"

The panda-eyed youth recoiled at the harsh word. "Faggot…"

Light gritted his teeth and stared angrily at his feet. He realized the car wasn't going anywhere. Shit, his driver was hearing everything. Light was pretty sure this guy was reliable and wouldn't spill to the press, because he had been working for Light for over a year, but you could never be too careful. To some people, juicy gossip was worth more than job security. He'd have to pay him extra tonight to keep him hushed.

"Take me home," Light snarled at the driver. "And hurry up."

"Is that is then?" Ryuzaki's voice quavered. Light had never heard insecurity in his voice before… it was like a slap to the face. "I was prepared for this consequence, but still. Is Light just going to disown me because of one brush of lips?"

WAS that it? Light's heart thudded in his chest. He'd only known Ryuzaki for such a short time, and even though he'd spent half that time infuriated with him, when they had been getting along, he liked Ryuzaki. True, most of the time he wanted to throttle the faux-doctor…. But there was something about the panda-eyed male that drew him in, that just made him want to forgive everything…. And there were still so many mysteries about Ryuzaki to solve, so many answers he didn't have….

_Alright then (Alright then) I could keep your number for a rainy day,_

_That's where this ends, no mistakes no misbehaving,_

_Oh, I was doing so well, can we just be friends,_

_I feel a weakness coming on._

"You understand that I can't…. LIKE you," Light said, his voice still shaking with anger but beginning to level out. "I'm not going to kiss you back, or fall into your arms… I have a girlfriend, Ryuzaki. I can't like you."

He wouldn't LET himself like Ryuzaki. He didn't WANT to like Ryuzaki.

"I'm aware."

"I just want to be your friend. Is that too much to ask? That maybe you could just be normal, and just be my friend? No blowing stuff up, no massaging, no kissing… I just want to be your friend, Ryuzaki, I just…"

Damn it, he would NOT get frustrated and cry.

"I can do that, Light."

"There can't be any more of this… no awkward tension, no saying that you like me, no kissing me…"

"I can do that."

He was saying he could. So why was Light's chest aching like this? Why did he feel so BAD? This was all because of Ryuzaki's idiotic social ineptitude…. He was so stupid, damn it…making Light feel this way…

_It's not meant to be like this, not what I planned at all,_

_I don't want to feel like this, Yeah,_

_No it's not meant to be like this, not what I planned at all,_

_I don't want to feel like this, so that makes it all your fault._

"I don't care," Ryuzaki finally said, monotone back in place without a trace of a quiver, "if Light likes me. But I don't believe he doesn't. It may, perhaps, be presumptuous, and perhaps egotistical. Light is handsome, intelligent, rich, a celebrity. He has a beautiful girlfriend. But Light is unhappy. Even I can sense that. I knew it from the moment I first spoke with him. Light has the perfect life, and yet he wants more. I can tell from Light's body language, his tone of voice. He is an excellent actor, but…"

_Inside out, upside-down twisting beside myself,_

_Stop that now; you're as close as it gets without touching me,_

_Oh no, don't make it harder than it already is,_

_Mmm, I feel a weakness coming on._

"Stop," Light demanded. "Stop the emotional diagnosis. I don't want to hear it. I'm happy; I'm fine, just… shut up!"

Ryuzaki scooted over in the seat. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt; that was so unsafe, the car was moving…

"Are you fine?" Ryuzaki's body was only inches from Light's. "Does Light really not care?"

"Yes… stop!" Light's heart seemed to be doing some sort of dance in his ribcage. It had to be River dancing, the THUMP-THUMP was so loud and frantic and fast….

"Light can just tell me that he doesn't like me. Just say he wants me to go away, since all I ever seem to do is make him angry. But Light won't. He continues forgiving me… because Light wants to be my friend? Or because he is romantically interested in me?"

"Shut up!" Light couldn't handle this, Ryuzaki was too close, and he was prying too far into Light's head…

_Big trouble losing control,_

_Primary resistance at a critical low,_

_On the double gotta get a hold,_

_Point of no return one second to go,_

Ryuzaki leaned even closer for a moment, but then he moved away and put his feet on the floorboard, buckling his seatbelt around him.

"I am sorry, Light-kun. I won't mention this again. Just promise me we may continue to be friends."

Light put his hands to his face, frustration tensing every muscle in his body. "Fine. Whatever."

The rest of the ride home was silent. Light tried to pay the driver extra to assure his silence, but he swore black and blue that he didn't need the extra money and that he wouldn't betray Light and put himself out of a job. Light watched a bit of TV with Ryuzaki, but conversation was tense and strained. Finally neither of them could take it. Light retired to his room and Ryuzaki to the library.

The next day things were the same: tense. And so were the day after, and the day after. Light had agreed to forgive Ryuzaki, but he'd kept on pushing, and ruined everything… would things ever be the same between them again?

* * *

Aaaaand there we go XD I'm sorry guys! Actually, this Is QUITE different from the first version of the chapter that I wrote; so people who've read the paper copy might want to kill me for changing it… XD especially ending like that…. T^T forgive me!

In happier news, the songs are back, since I have a song picked out for this chapter, the one after and maybe even the one after that! Can anyone guess which one I used this chapter? Special mentions to anyone who knows it! (Or just goes to a lyric search and looks it up….) Anyways! Thanks for your patience, guys, and hope you like the update! Gawd, I can't wait till Lent Is over XD


	21. Chapter 21

The Little Things Give You Away

Chapter 21

My humblest apologies, ladies and gentlemen… I've been absent a little while, haven't I? I have to apologize… Lent ended on Easter, but I've just been sitting around reading fanfiction like a junkie without updating my own… To make amends, I have a treat for you (might be more like a torture to some people, but… I try.) But, I mean, how could anyone update fanfiction when presented with Final Fantasy VII? I started playing it with my roommate this weekend and OHMYLORD it's amazing. Still can't get over Drag!Cloud. And Aeris…. Ah, she's so adorable! …But enough ranting. On to some more Little Things. Warnings: Mello and Matt do tend to swear a little… not that that's anything that anyone would care about, right?

* * *

_I sense there's something in the wind…_

Even in the midst of gaming, Matt could always hear Mello enter their apartment.

The two lived above the studio where they recorded all their music, so the apartment was soundproofed and reinforced. That way, they could have jam sessions or practice without disturbing neighbors… although it was rare that Mello even sang to himself these days. He simply had no time for music. So it wasn't all that easy to hear the blonde… Matt was just so attuned to his best friend's presence.

The sound of leather rustling against leather, the click of his boots on the tile as he walked, the crinkle of foil and the inevitable SNAP of a chocolate bar fresh from the freezer. They were such small noises, but they were so comfortable and familiar to Matt that they had become the BGM of his life.

From the kitchen, Mello called out. "Matt!! Have you seen my Godiva? All we have is this Hershey's shit!"

"No, but there's Cadbury in the freezer under the Hot Pockets," Matt called back.

Mello let out a small cry of triumph that told the redhead that he'd discovered said chocolate.

The clicks changed to muffled footsteps as Mello moved from the kitchen tile to the living room carpet. With them came Mello's scent- as familiar as always and yet new and exciting, somehow. Mello smelled like leather and chocolate and some faint, almost undetectable cologne.

_Listen to me,_ Matt mentally scolded. _I sound ridiculous, thinking like this. Am I so pathetic that I obsess over how he smells, how he sounds? I'm like some 13-year-old girl with her first crush. And I could never tell Mello, not EVER, not even when he stabs me in the heart by putting the band on hold and then twists the knife with this dumb blonde bimbo that he's trying to steal from what's his face. _

Matt shook his head, because the thought process was pissing him off and Mello was standing behind him.

"The graphics on this game suck."

"They don't have to be any good, this game is a classic."

Mello shrugged and climbed over the back of the couch, plopping down next to his band/roommate.

A silence spread between them as Matt tried to lose himself in the game, but it was impossible with Mello so close. Matt sighed and paused the game, bringing up the Menu screen.

"What've you been up to?" he asked the aspiring actor on the couch next to him.

"Eh, boring stuff. Getting my wardrobe fitted, talking with the director about Mihael's character…" He shook his head. "The director is okay, but you should see the assistant director. He's new, apparently, he's not actually starting till Season 2 and right now he's just shadowing the director… Creepy guy. He's like seven feet tall, but he's scrawny as hell."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. All decked out in Goth or whatever you call it. I think he's crazy."

Matt couldn't hold back, and blurted out, suddenly. "Are you sure you want to do this?!"

"Do what?"

"This acting thing… Mello, I just know this isn't going to end well, I just know it…"

"What are you talking about?" Mello scoffed. "Matt, you should see the directors, the media. They love me; they think I'm great. It can only get better from here."

"And what about this vendetta against Light? Trying to steal his publicity, his …girlfriend…" Matt swallowed the rush of anger that surged up in his throat at the mention of her. "Getting into a celeb rivalry will kill your career, it'll become nothing but tabloids…"

_…That feels like tragedy's at hand  
And though I'd like to stand by him  
Can't shake this feeling that I have  
The worst is just around the bend…_

_And does he notice my feelings for him?_

Mello's eyes glittered with something angry and excited and childish. "Don't you get it? I don't need an agent to tell me that even bad press is good for you. And if I ruin him, it'll make my rise to fame even more splendid. He'll become a pathetic shadow of a man, and then I'll step in to fill his footsteps, and everyone will say how much better I am than my predecessor." He gestured with one leather-gloved hand at Matt. "Don't you see? We'll be great. We can pay off Kal, everyone will respect us, we can get a mansion in Beverly Hills…"

Matt held back the bitter taste in his mouth as best as he could. That had always been their dream back in the old days, the bad days… And Matt was almost pulled in by Mello's enthusiasm, he really was, but… The way Mello was going about it was all wrong and this could only end badly.

"We could get that with the band," Matt insisted. "We got signed by a major record label. Our album was in the works and everything until you decided it was a good idea to run off and make enemies with one of the most popular teen idols in the US. We were going to have singles and billboard hits and videos and…" Matt trailed off. He could see that the blonde was getting angry.

"I'm not just doing this for you, or me Matt," Mello snapped. "I'm doing it for Near. He needs me, and if destroying Light makes him happy, I'll do it. I'd jump off a goddamned bridge if it made him realize that I'm not the brother from hell, that I'm not worth hating and ignoring, that I give a shit about him."

The couch cushions seemed to swallow Matt as he sank down amongst them, gripping his controller tightly. "I thought his name was Nate," he muttered, but he was just being bitter and spiteful now.

"If he wanted me to call him Little Bo Peep it wouldn't matter. Don't be a smart-ass."

Matt saved, switched off, and stood up. "I need a smoke," he mumbled, grabbing his cigarettes and heading for the balcony.

_No, I think not… it's never to become._

_For I am not the one…_

The bottom line was that Mello would do what he wanted regardless, and no warning from Matt would stop him. And Matt would never confess his feelings, Mello would never love him back and Matt would waste away in his best friend's shadow.

"You don't know what it's like caring about someone who thinks nothing of you!" Mello shouted after the redhead.

"You have no idea," Matt murmured as he lit his cigarette.

* * *

I just wanted to add one small rant, my dears:

I was counting down the last 23 days of school in celebration of Change The WorLd, and today is the 23rd day... so if Little Things is never updated again, it's because I dropped dead in the middle of the night while eating a chocolate bar. Love y'all!


	22. Chapter 22

The Little Things Give You Away

By AishiExcel

So! Here I am, attempting to post another chapter to Little Things, and I find myself thinking: Where do I go from here?

It's not necessarily that I don't know the next plot point for the story- because I know exactly what the next major event is; the real thing troubling me is… the pace. Should I continue making things drag along achingly, sweetly and realistically slow between Light and L, or should I up the ante and hurry up and have them "get together"?

So for the first time ever, I'm asking for a little advice. I'm going to be posting a poll on my profile, but for those of you who don't want to bother going there, you could always feed me input through a review- hint, hint.

After all, I do live to serve.

In other news, I now have a job. HOORAY! This means that, hopefully, I'll be financially ensured to go to school next year. In between working and sleeping, I also need to work on my sketchbook and summer assignments- so updates might be a little slow in coming, but I promise that they'll continue.

Now that I've complained to you enough, here- a special treat for depriving you of L last time.

* * *

Light came home from a day out exhausted and grumpy. Today had been a promotional photo shoot for the advertisement about the upcoming DVD release, and there was nothing Light hated more than posing like an idiot while some scrawny photographer purred, "That's it baby, RAWR!" at him. Light's looks and body build could have guaranteed him a career as a model, but Light had chosen the hard path instead and become an actor, a career which actually required some measure of talent as well as looks.

He walked into the living room expecting to see the freak- pardon, RYUZAKI- sitting there channel surfing, but the couch was oddly empty of crouching weirdoes.

In fact….

Light looked around the kitchen and saw no empty cake-plate.

He went to the back of the condo, towards his library, and tapped lightly on the door. There was no page-rustling sound inside. He hesitantly pushed the white-painted door open.

Inside the library there was… no one.

So…. Ryuzaki wasn't here.

Light hurriedly looked around, but Ryuzaki's medical textbooks were still stacked up on the floor near the bookshelf, and there was a white long-sleeve shirt lying abandoned on the air mattress. So… he couldn't have left for good. Light almost breathed a sigh of relief, but then he remembered that Ryuzaki had kissed him. Right… he was mad at him. He should be glad the messy-haired faux-physician was out of the house, even temporarily.

With a haughty 'ha!' the teen superstar sauntered into the living room and proudly turned on the TV, uncontested.

It grew old in about five seconds.

Light hated to admit it- actually, he couldn't even bear to think of admitting it. But without the off-kilter man in the house, it was kind of… lonely.

"What the hell are you doing, Ryuzaki?" Light yelled at no one in particular.

////

The man sat impatiently in the clinic, kicking his feet back and forth as he sat on the examination table. He'd been ushered into this room after getting snippy with a nurse who had asked him what his ailment was. Well, the skank had deserved it- acting like he was the scum of the earth and she was so great just because she'd been to nursing school. He was a CEO, dammit; he didn't have to listen to that.

"The doctor will be with you shortly," the cold-hearted bitch (her nametag read "Lidner", and she was a hottie, but that attitude of hers would have to go) told him.

He strained his ears to hear what she said once she left the small examination room, shutting the door. She was talking to another nurse. He swore, if they were gossiping about him he'd have some strings pulled to get the skanks fired, nobody talked about Kyosuke Higuchi that way.

But they seemed to be speaking about someone else entirely. Higuchi couldn't hear everything they said, but he picked up bits and pieces.

"…you sure about this?"

"Of course. He seems odd, but he's very clever…"

"…the one who solved the…?"

"…yes… took some time off for personal matters, but… bored today, so… wanted to work in the clinic."

Obviously they were talking about some stupid-stuck-up doctor. Higuchi scoffed and looked around the small examination room, which was decorated in the obligatory medical posters and charts. The sooner he got out of here, the better.

After a few moments the door opened, and Higuchi thought it would FINALLY be the slow-ass doctor, but it was just some scrawny, hunched kid in blue jeans that barely fit him. Trying not to let his disappointment show, he waved a dismissive hand at the kid. "This room is occupied, kid."

The kid- though, when Higuchi looked at him again, he wasn't sure of his age, he could have been anywhere from seventeen to thirty- stared blankly at him. "I was told to wait in this room."

"Well, so was I, so there was obviously some sort of mistake," the businessman snapped.

"Ah. I shall just have to wait here for the doctor to amend the mistake, then," he murmured. He moved over to the chair where the doctor usually sat and hopped into it, settling into an odd crouching position. Higuchi hoped the doctor threw him face first out of the chair when he came in.

If he came in, because this was taking forever.

"What is your name?" the weird young man asked, though from the flatness in his voice it seemed like he hardly cared. Or maybe he was just a freak.

"Kyosuke Higuchi. And you are…?"

"I am hoping the doctor will get here shortly."

So not only did he have horrid posture, sloppy clothes and a boring voice, but he was also rude and he didn't give out his name. This waiting-room-mate was getting better by the second. The businessman held back his anger, however, because that hottie/bitch nurse Lidner might come back in and he didn't want her seeing him all pissed off.

"So what is wrong with you?" the hunched kid asked in that same possibly-not-even-interested tone.

"Nothing. I'm just here for a check-up."

"Your suit is very nice. You must be a businessman."

Higuchi shifted uncomfortably on the examination table. Well, at least he had the sense to give compliments where they were deserved. "Yeah. I'm a head of Technology Development."

The freak nodded vaguely and looked down at his shoes. "Do you have a foot fungus? Perhaps a venereal disease?"

"NO! What the hell is wrong with you?" This sinister-looking brat was acting like it was some kind of game, trying to guess what was wrong. "It's none of your goddamn business, and if it was, why the HELL would you think that?"

The downright frightening kid bit on his thumbnail, which only succeeded in making him look odder. "The TV says businessmen have a reputation for promiscuity, so a venereal disease seemed logical. And to wear such uncomfortable shoes all day…" He wriggled his toes in their battered tennis shoes. "A foot fungus would be sadly inevitable."

"Look, you're wrong, it's neither of those."

"Uncontrollable diarrhea? Flatulence? Erectile dysfunction?"

"NO!" God, Higuchi had never wanted to get up and choke someone more than he did now. "If it'll shut you up, I'll tell you, it's just some damn hair loss, okay?"

"Ah. Hair loss is common in men your age."

"It's not that!" Why was this scrawny little horror acting as though he was qualified to diagnose someone? "I mean, it's not like my hairline has been receding or I'm getting old and fat and bald or any of that shit. I've got thick, healthy hair and I will for a while." Okay, so maybe his forehead was a little high, but he wasn't going to point it out to this nightmare. "My father had all of his hair right up until his funeral."

"Oh. So by hair loss, you mean…"

Was he nosy enough? Still, it was worth talking, because at least the terror didn't say anything in that horrible flat voice when Higuchi was speaking. "It's all of a sudden. I just woke up this morning with it all over my pillow, coming out whenever I brush it or run my hands through it…"

The kid put his hands on his knees and tilted his head. "Ah. That's terrible. I hope the doctor can fix it. It must be important for a businessman to make a good impression. Is it very stressful keeping up appearances?"

"Yeah. Not that you'd probably know anything about it." From the looks of this guy, this was probably his Sunday best. He must have been homeless. Or a street musician. Or some crap like that. "What do YOU do?"

"A little of this, a little of that. Nothing nearly so tiring as being a head of Technology Development." He turned his creepy eyes towards Higuchi's hands. "Your wife must worry during all those long hours and board meetings." Obviously, he'd seen the wedding band on the older man's finger.

"Eh, she deals with it. I have to take my business trips when I need them, so she just has to find a hobby or something." He resisted the urge to run a hand through his hair for fear of pulling more of it loose. "It's tough crap, men's work. She wouldn't understand even if she knew what my days at the office were like."

"Ah." Was it possible to sound any more bored in a monotone like that? Because somehow, this guy did it.

"Yeah, you should hear her complain…. All this crap about me not paying enough attention to her… she should be grateful I'm out there making money for her damn bills…"

He looked up to see the freak shuffling towards him. What was he-?

Wordlessly, the dark-eyed man grabbed a handful of Higuchi's hair and, standing behind him, yanked his head back. The older man made a terrified squeak. Was this kid going to cut his throat?

Leaning forward the abomination pressed his face to Higuchi's scalp and inhaled deeply.

"Wh-wh-wh-WHAT THE HELL? NURSE! NURSE! SOMEONE- SEXUAL ASSUALT-"

The horror-movie reject released Higuchi, wiping the strands of hair that had come away on his hands on his jeans.

"A condition exists, known as telogen effluvium, which causes hair loss due to stress. However… there is only a ten percent chance that it is what you have. It's far more likely that your wife put a small quantity of Nair in your shampoo in a vengeful move after becoming tired of your behavior and the affair you are most likely having. You didn't detect the scent because you use far too much foul-smelling hair product and cologne. My suggestion is that you throw out the shampoo, begin wearing less scanted products, and purchase a toupee. I have no suggestion as how to deal with your wife's rage, however."

And he shuffled out of the room just like that.

Higuchi gaped like a fish at his retreating back, and he was still stunned speechless when Lidner re-entered the room. "Are you okay sir?" she asked, sounding slightly amused.

"I… uh… I… who was that?"

"Oh, you must mean Ryuzaki. He's just a regular patient." She smiled slyly. "Will you still be needing to see a doctor?"

"Uh…no." Higuchi grabbed his briefcase and awkwardly headed to the door. "But does anyone around here know the number of a good divorce attorney?"


End file.
